Kingdom Hospital: Resolutions
by The Cynical Flower Girl
Summary: My answer to the lack of Season 2: A prostitute from New York City makes a wrong move and finds herself cast off alongside a remote Maine highway. What happens next could change the course of history forever... again. XD Bad title, good story. Please RR.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hospital isn't mine. It belongs to Stephen King, Richard Dooling, Lars Von Trier, and Niels Vorsen... Yeah, I think that covers just about everybody but the cameramen and the light technicians.

_A girl runs through the forest. She's disoriented, continually looking over her shoulder. How did she get here? Heavy breathing, a flash of black, brown- an animal! It could be a dog. No, it's too big. A wolf? A bear?_

_The girl runs faster. She looks to be in her late teens. Her long brown hair bounces and flies wildly about her shoulders and she crashes and bounds through the woods. She vaguely remembers someone telling her that you should never run from a wild animal. It's a little late for that…_

_She looks around. Where did it go? The forest seems to go on forever. She doesn't know how much longer she can run. Suddenly, it stops. She emerges from the trees and sees a building. A large sign reads, "Gottreich Hospital." _

_"Thy kingdom come," a voice whispers in her ear. She jumps, spins around. There's no one there. She sees a dark mass a few feet in front of her. The animal. An anteater? She was running from an anteater?_

_It's dark. When did that happen? Why didn't she notice? A few seconds ago, the sun was shining. She becomes aware of a golden glow coming from behind her. There's hissing, crackling, a burnt smell. The anteater looks beyond her, green eyes glimmering in the odd light. She turns around._

_Fire! She hears screaming. Figures are stumbling and racing from the building. The whole thing is engulfed in flames! She shrieks as she is knocked to the ground from behind. Her attacker holds her down on her stomach, putting pressure on her back so she can't get up. It rolls her over- it's the anteater, and it has her pinned. She's crying now. She sees green eyes, teeth. Needle-sharp teeth! She closes her eyes._

_She's standing. Standing? She opens her eyes. She's in a dimly-lit hallway. There are no windows, but at the end of the hall is a door. She approaches it cautiously, and reaches out, but before her hand even grasps the knob, the door flies open. Beyond it is a void, darkness, utter and complete. From somewhere within its depths came a low guttural growl and a bright green pair of eyes flashed at her, floating in the blackness._

Gasping, she sat up in bed. _Another dream_, she thought, looking around the room and groaning. Her stomach ached and her head was throbbing. She was sweating. Strands of her bleached blonde hair stuck to her face. Hands shaking, she began rifling through the drawers of her nightstand until she found a small syringe and a yellow tourniquet.

She examined the needle closely for a second, remembering that she'd already loaded it the night before, as she banded her arm. "This shit's gonna kill me," she muttered, willing the pain away as she gritted her teeth and jabbed it into her arm. A second later, she flopped back on the bed, breathless. Heroin was a bitch. She didn't even enjoy the high anymore. One does grow tired of stumbling around in a haze. It was great at first; feeling that rush was like a little bit of vacation in every shot. It was definitely not like that anymore. Now she just shot up to stop the pain.

Of course, Frankie would have never told her that she'd become so dependent on those little injections. But then, Frankie was never one to care what the effects of his actions might be.

_Someone's banging on the door._

The thought came to her absently, nonchalantly as if on a breeze. She listened. _Yup_, she thought with a grin. _That door's getting banged alright_. She closed her eyes.

"Sadie! Sadie Miller, open this door! I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me!"

Sadie's eyes flew open. Red flag. The word _landlord_ drifted into her brain, accompanied by the words _rent_ and _overdue_.

"Shit," she hissed. She bolted out of bed, and promptly fell back onto it with the head-rush that followed. "Shit, shit, shit!" She shook her head and rubbed her eyes to clear them both. _Okay, focus_. She looked around the cluttered room.

_Fire escape_.

"Fire escape," she whispered, echoing the thought. "Finally, something I can use." She threw a few things into her already cluttered purse, which more resembled a denim-patched saddlebag, threw it over her shoulder and grabbed her coat.

"The check's in the mail," she said quietly, shutting the window behind her and starting down the steps. She smiled when she saw a red-haired girl standing outside of the building smoking a cigarette. "Ruby Tuesday!" she cried, hopping off of the stairs.

"Sexy Sadie!" Ruby flicked the cigarette butt away and ran to hug her. People stared at the two best friends. If the girls' clothes hadn't convinced them of what they were, then their names would have been a dead giveaway. But, so what? In their line of work, it paid to have a colorful name- something that got you noticed.

"Come on," Sadie said giddily. She grabbed Ruby's hand and started running.

"Sadie, what's going on? Are you high?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. Old Lady Harris is on the prowl, and I'm flat broke." They rounded a corner and stopped to catch their breath.

"What happened to all the money you made last week?"

"I had to pay Frankie double so I could take last night off. Plus, a girl's gotta have the essentials," she shrugged and tapped the dark scar tissue in the crook of her arm.

Ruby grimaced. "God, that looks painful."

"Only when I stick it."

"So don't. That shit's gonna kill you."

"So I've heard." She started walking again.

Ruby followed. She was visibly younger than Sadie, though the actual difference was only about a year, and she followed her almost everywhere. Drugs had brought Sadie to where she was, while a need for some semblance of family had drawn Ruby. "Ready to get back to work tonight?"

Sadie smiled. "Girl, I think the question is, are the men of New York ready for _us?"_

To be continued...

A/N: Short first chapter, though that's pretty standard for me. I know it, so please don't tell me. (I can't tell you how much I love it when I get reviews from people saying "That chapter was really short." This is for all those people- just so they know that I am aware of it). Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine, but an OC or two…

Dr. Hook rubbed his eyes tiredly and sighed. It had been a bad day. One of the worst since-

_Since the gatekeeper of the dead took over our hospital and turned it into a freakshow._

He snorted and shook his head. He still couldn't get his brain around it. After all of the excitement, he'd taken a very long vacation, more to think than to rest. He even considered transferring to another hospital, one far from Lewiston, but upon thinking about it some more, he realized he couldn't imagine himself working anywhere else. He'd found his happy little rut, and he wasn't going to let a couple dysfunctional spooks run him out of it. Plus, he'd miss Chris.

He glanced over to the bed where she'd crashed hours before he'd come off his shift. She was the one normal thing in his life, and he wasn't ready to give that up just yet. And anyway, there hadn't been any supernatural goings-on for the past few months. No crucifixions and resurrections, no voices in the elevators, and most notably, no more earthquakes. The weirdest thing around here presently seemed to be Steg, and boy was he getting weird. Rushing out of surgery unexpectedly, speaking calmly one second and then glaring at you as if you had two heads the next, not to mention his sudden paranoia were the latest additions to his long list of charming qualities. Dr. Abelson's (forced) resignation seemed to help things a little bit, but…

He sighed heavily. The remarkable Dr. Stegman. If anyone needed a vacation, it was that man.

_Absence makes the heart grow fonder._ He smiled. _Yeah, right._

Hook had suggested that to Dr. James, reporting all of his strange behavior, and arguing that a week off could be beneficial to his health. Dr. James responded by getting Steg his license back. Well, he didn't really give it back to him. The Keepers did. God knows how. Hook hadn't voted for it. Mona Klingerman's mother certainly hadn't voted for it.

Hook shrugged. "What_ever!_" he groaned to himself. Now apparently wasn't the time. He'd get what was coming to him. It was out of Hook's hands how or when. He'd tried his hand at sabotage, and while it had been exceptionally fun, it really wasn't his style. When the time came, he'd be ready. His eyes fell on the graveyard- little white crosses through the beaded curtain.

So, other than Steg, everything seemed to have gone back to normal. The spirits were at peace at last. Or at the very least, sleeping…

-

It was Wednesday- Fritzie night. To say he was a regular was an understatement. You could almost set your watch by the greasy little nympho-nerd. Every Wednesday night at ten-thirty, Allen Fritz would drive up to the corner asking for Ruby Tuesday and Sexy Sadie. He always asked for both- something about The Beatles versus The Rolling Stones, which, Sadie thought, seemed strange when you tried to imagine a skinny geek with thick, black rimmed, coke-bottle glasses having any interest in either band when there were much more important things to do (like reformatting their hard-drive or catching up on the latest adventures of the Justice League).

But she wasn't being fair, she would scold herself. Everybody needed a little love sometimes, and if he wanted to continue paying for the show, then she and Ruby would be happy to keep bringing on the noise.

_Are you ready to rock 'n' roll! _Sadie smiled and checked her watch. Where was Ruby? Fritzie would be coming any second. _He'd better be_, she thought, shivering. The go-go girl costume she'd chosen wasn't the warmest thing to be wearing in April.

"Sadie!"

"Ruby, thank God."

"Not yet," Ruby said breathlessly, holding up her hand. "I got a suit waiting on me down the street."

"A suit? But what about Fritzie?"

"Oh, Sadie, please! This is a business guy- someone willing to pay me some real money. Fritzie couldn't come close to what this guy's offering me."

She sighed. "Are you seriously ditching me with this weirdo? I don't know if I can do this alone."

"Are you kidding?" Ruby grinned. "He likes The Beatles better anyway. You can handle him."

"Oh alright. Go on with your high-roller." Sadie couldn't help but smile back. Ruby's little girl smiles where just so damned infectious, as if she was years younger than sixteen (three years Sadie's junior), not that that wasn't young enough in this part of the world.

"I knew you'd understand," the little redhead beamed and disappeared around the corner.

Almost on cue, headlights appeared, and they were coming her way. She checked her watch. Ten-thirty-two. "You're slipping, sweetheart," she mumbled under her breath.

Leaning against the lamppost with a hand on her hip, she watched as the beat up Cadillac chugged up in front of her and the window rolled down. Sauntering forward, she smiled sweetly at the driver. "Fritzie, dahling," she said in her best British accent. Fritzie loved it when they used British accents.

"W-w-where's Ruby Tuesday?" he stuttered nervously. Another thing about Fritzie. He stuttered. If she cared, she might have found it endearing.

"Oooh, sadly she's come down with the mumps and won't be able to join us tonight, but we can have fun, you and I."

"Th-the mumps?" Fritzie pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere. "Did you see her?"

"With my own eyes, I did."

"Get back!" Fritzie held the handkerchief over his mouth and nose. "Don't come any closer!"

"What!"

Fritzie floored the gas pedal and Sadie had just enough time to stand back before the car took off, narrowly missing her toes. She stood there for a second, bewildered, before she realized what had happened. "What the hell's the matter with you!" she screamed after the car, her accent reverting back to her normal New York City-tinged dialect. "Think I'm contagious, huh? Never bothered you before!" She huffed exasperatedly and turned to walk away, but she saw something that stopped her.

Frankie Frankencourt. His shiny, black Mercedes glinted in the orange lamplight, and inside she could make out a figure wearing a suit, sitting and smoking a cigar. _Wonderful, just what I need right now._ She straightened herself out and forced a smile. She strolled over to where he sat and leaned in the window. "How's tricks, lover?"

"Just fine, cupcake." He began playing with a strand of her hair. "Rough night?" His hair was shiny, like there was too much gel or grease in it. Frankie thought he was a mobster, and liked to dress as such. Sadie found it juvenile. She regularly wondered what his real name was- probably something like Eugene or Myrtle. Maybe even Florence. He didn't impress anyone, but when he wanted to intimidate, he certainly could.

"Huh? Oh, Fritzie? Man, he'll be back next week." Her smile began to feel strained.

"Possibly."

She didn't like the way he'd said that. And she wished he'd stop playing with her hair. She hated it when Frankie touched her. She'd take any other man in the whole damned city, but when Frankie touched her, she felt utterly filthy.

"Hey, don't worry, okay? I can make it up."

"Get in."

"What?"

"Get _in_."

A large man, with a shaved head and a black suit identical to Frankie's, stepped out of the passenger side. She recognized him as Jono, Frankie's bodyguard, bouncer, lackey. He walked around to her side of the car and opened the door for her. His eyes were cruel and they followed her every move. "Why thank you, sir," she said sweetly, her smile more strained than ever.

"Buckle up," Frankie said, flashing a strange smile over his shoulder as he started up the car. Sadie did as he said, but noticed that the bullish character next to her did not. _Guess I wouldn't either if I could get away with it,_ Sadie thought uneasily, trying hard not to look at him. _Don't look them in the eyes. It could provoke an attack._

She didn't know where that last thought had come from, but it brought back a memory. From a dream, maybe? Yes, it was definitely a dream. And there was a-

_An anteater?_ She shook her head and looked out the window. Where were they? The car slowed as it passed between two huge brick buildings. When it came to a stop, Sadie peeked around the driver's seat and through the windshield.

"What the hell?" she muttered and looked around. She didn't see anyone.

The headlights switched off and Frankie killed the engine. They were alone in the dark- a dark, dead end alley.

Frankie switched on the dome light and turned to face her, a disturbingly wide grin on his face. "Let's talk, love."

Sadie forced a smile, trying to keep her hands from shaking too noticeably. "What's this about, boss?" She tore her eyes away from his and glanced over at the mountain of flesh sitting next to her. He was staring at her. She shuddered.

"Do you know what it means to be in a mutual relationship?" Frankie asked in an irritatingly parental tone.

She knew, but she couldn't speak. She wondered if it would have done any good if she could.

Frankie chuckled. "No, I didn't think so. Well," he continued. Basically it means you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Do something for me, and I'll do something for you. Understand?"

Sadie nodded vigorously, felt she couldn't nod enough. She knew what was going on and she knew what was going to happen next. But maybe, just maybe…

"Yes sir," she said quietly.

He reached out to her arm, but she jerked it away with a gasp. "Come on, sweetheart, I'm not gonna hurt you." He grabbed her arm and pulled it toward him, fingering the dark scar gingerly. Sadie winced. "I'd say I've done quite a bit for you, huh?" He let her go.

"Oh, God, yeah. Frankie I don't know where I'd be _without_ you," she giggled nervously. She knew exactly where she'd be, God damn it, but it was too late for that.

Frankie sighed a big superficial sigh. "Sadie, darling, I'm gonna give it to you straight. You've become a liability, always with your hand in the cookie jar," he preached, tapping her arm.

"What? What- Frankie, you can't just cut me off," she stammered desperately.

Frankie chuckled again. "Sadie, honey, I'm not cutting you off." The smile vanished from his face. "I'm cutting you _out_."

The first blow hit her like a ton of bricks. With a sickening crack, pain exploded in her skull and flooded her vision with red. After the second, everything went black.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Over the weekend I bought the rights to Kingdom Hospital… Ha! Are you kidding? I am in college, and I am NOT a Hilton. I own nothing of value.

Some hours later, Sadie began drifting in and out of consciousness. At first her eyes wouldn't open, but gradually her heavy eyelids began to lift and her eyes adjusted to the now bright blue sky glaring in through the windshield. Her left eye felt swollen and hot. She winced at the now familiar pain throbbing in her head and shooting in her stomach. Then she realized she couldn't move her arms or legs. She groaned faintly and realized they were bound together. She felt the fibers of the tightly knotted rope biting into her skin. She tried to speak and found she couldn't. Her mouth was taped shut.

_No way this is happening to me_, she thought frantically. _This happens in movies, not to real people. Not to me._ She wondered if Jono was still there and she tried to tilt her head up to see the big ape, but her neck was too stiff, her bad eye too swollen to make out anything but a blur of black, presumably his slacks.

Frankie was still driving. She could see him begin fumbling with something in the passenger seat next to him. He looked down momentarily and she heard little blips coming from a cell phone keypad.

_Driving with a cell phone on's illegal, dumbass_, she thought bitterly, and then another thought occurred to her. _Please, God, let him get pulled over._ She wondered if they could pull you over for something like that, or if it was like failing to wear a seatbelt a couple years ago. You couldn't get pulled over for it, but if you got caught while being pulled over for something else you'd be fined. She hoped that wasn't how it worked. She hoped for once the police would do their job and bust this bastard.

How many times had he done this before? How many girls had this man lured, destroyed their lives, and then just disposed of them when they just didn't cut it anymore? "Hey, Ma?" Frankie laughed jovially. It's your boy, Ma! I'm in Maine, and I thought I'd stop by!" A pause. "Naw, I just got a bit of business to take care of. I should be there in a few hours… No, Ma, really, I just gotta drop somethin' off. I just thought since I was in the neighborhood… Yeah, well, that'll be great. See you soon… Love you too, Ma. Bye."

Sadie had begun weeping softly. The pain was too much. She hadn't realized how bad her dependence had become, but she needed her drugs, _now_. Along with her smashed head, she was feeling the beginnings of withdrawal pains, which were spreading outward from her stomach like electricity. Bolts shot through her midsection out to her limbs, through her neck and into her already throbbing head. She couldn't have been out that long.

But the worst part was the hopelessness of it all. She was tied up in a car with her homicidal sugar-daddy, his gargantuan gorilla side-kick, in another state, and she was alone. No one would miss her-

_Except Ruby._

She began to sob. _Go home, Ruby, _her mind screamed. _Go somewhere! Run! Don't let it happen to you!_ If only she could get to her somehow to warn her.

Things were starting to become fuzzy again. Sadie's head swam. She narrowed her eyes and bored holes in the back of Frankie's head_. You won't touch her, you son-of-a-bitchin' greaser wannabe_, she thought. _I'll kill you. I'll kill you! Don't you touch her_, her mind repeated over and over. Before she realized it, the darkness overtook her, and she slipped away again.

-

She drifted in and out- so briefly that she barely noticed the drastic change of scenery that had taken place sometime while she was unconscious. Some parts of her were numb and didn't register the poking sticks and twigs, or the crawling insects. Other parts hurt too much for her to focus on much else. Her body trembled with each shuddering breath from a combination of pain and sickness. She was grateful when the darkness came back to claim her again, plunging her into a kind of limbo of indifference. Briefly she would awaken, believing she heard voices, but she couldn't move, and she was gone again before she could think of anything else. The thought never occurred to her that she might be dying…

-

"Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Yes, Lin. We're fine."

"Are you sure? Can't we check the compass one more time?"

"We just checked it five minutes ago!"

Sadie opened her eyes and winced as the pain came back. Her eyelids fluttered closed- they felt like they weighed a thousand pounds apiece- but she forced them open again. _No,_ _wake up! Stay awake! Call for help!_

"Sam?" a young woman's voice said cautiously.

"What!" the young man cried, exasperated.

"Well, don't get mad at me! This hiking bit was your idea, anyway!"

"All right! All right. What do you want?"

There was a brief silence. "I gotta pee."

A big sigh, then, "Fine, we'll take a break, but please try to make it quick. We've got to get back before we start losing light."

"Thanks a lot."

Sadie heard twigs snapping as the woman's footsteps came toward her, but after a second, they slowed and stopped.

_No! Keep going! _her mind screamed, but the duct tape over her mouth silenced her.

"Damn it, I knew we were going the wrong way. Sam! I can see the road from here; we went too far!"

"Huh? How could that have happened?" Sam's footsteps now followed Lin's. He scoffed. "Unbelievable. Okay, hurry up. We're going to take longer than I thought." He started walking away and Lin headed off in another direction.

Sadie panicked. Gathering all the strength she could, she forced herself to make a sound- any sound!

Sam had knelt beside his backpack as he examined the compass, but he dropped everything when he heard Lin scream. "Lin? Linda!"

-

The ambulance arrived within twenty minutes. The hikers answered the medics' questions, then the police's. She had no I.D. of any kind. When one of the backpackers stumbled upon her, she had thought the girl was dead. However, the other quickly determined that she was indeed alive, though barely, and dialed 9-1-1 on his cell phone.

"Jesus, Danny," one of the medics said as they loaded her up in the ambulance. "Someone just dumped her out here like a piece of trash."

"Get a load of that outfit," Danny replied. I guess somebody decided if she was gonna dress like it, she might as well act like it."

"Frankie," the girl choked out, barely above a whisper. (One of the hikers reported that they had pulled off a long strap of duct tape that had been stuck over her mouth; obviously someone wanted to keep her quiet.) She started coughing, then gagging, before effectively tossing her cookies all over Danny's jacket sleeve.

"Aw, man." He looked to his partner and raised his eyebrows. "Under the circumstances, I think I'll let you drive, Ollie." He sighed. "At least she's awake."

"Roger that," Ollie replied with a grimace. He shut the doors behind them and hurried to the driver's side door.

The last thing Sadie remembered was the paramedic's, Danny's blue eyes looking into hers. You're in good hands, little girl," he was saying. "Just try and stay with me, okay?"

Her vision dimmed. The pain was overwhelming. Her stomach felt like she had eaten glass shards. Her head throbbed continuously until she thought she would lose her mind. The darkness returned, and she all too happily surrendered.

-

_Doctor Hook to Trauma 1, shtat!_

"Hey, doc." Chris woke up first and shook him. "Hey, _doc,_ you're late for work!"

Hook snorted awake and sat up hastily. "What time is it?"

"Almost 5:30."

"I was supposed to be in half an hour ago! Why didn't you wake me?"

Chris shrugged apologetically and he realized for the first time that, aside from her lab coat, she was still in her work clothes. "I'm sorry. I was exhausted after I got out today and I was only going to take a short nap, but-"

_Paging Dr. Hook. Doctor Hook to Trauma 1, shtat!_

"Thanks for that, Otto," he grumbled. "Maybe I should have him give me a wake-up call from now on."

"Or maybe you should start setting your own alarm instead of relying on other people to get you up."

"Yeah, yeah. Where are my pants?"

He dressed quickly and headed out. Late. Late for the second time this month, and this time there was an emergency. He cursed himself under his breath, but still audible enough for Chris to hear.

She watched him go, shaking her head. He was such a child sometimes. A grin spread across her face as she hoped secretly that she would never tire of it.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: NOTHING!

When he reached Trauma, he discovered that the emergency had been taken care of without him.

_Nice, _he thought. _They can do without me. That hurts a little. Dr. James will have my job soon enough… and give it to Steg. _He shuddered as he saw Dr. Stegman leaving one of the operating rooms.

"Nice to see you finally decided to show up, Dr. Hook, albeit a bit late. I took the liberty of taking care of your emergency for you. You're lucky I was still on from last shift. Next time, I may not be able to cover for you." Dr. Stegman beamed at his own prowess.

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Stegman. We all know how very generous you are." Hook turned his attention to Nurse Vanaman. "What happened?"

The nurse handed him a clipboard. "A teenaged girl. Looks like she got caught up in some bad business. No ID, no family that we can find, not even a wallet. Danny and Ollie picked her up out in the woods. Some hikers found her tied up with duct tape over her mouth. Scars on her arm indicate a heroin addiction, meaning she could be experiencing extreme withdrawal symptoms within the next twelve to twenty-four hours. Danny and Ollie confirmed she was experiencing some symptoms concurrent with withdrawal at the site until she lost consciousness, but they could also have originated from her injuries."

"I'll examine her. Twelve to twenty-four you said? That doesn't give us much time."

"Are you thinking detox?"

"We haven't had one of those since the 80's. Get her on an IV. We'll try to flush her out. If she makes it through the night, then we'll see if she's strong enough for the detox.

"Yes, doctor."

"Where did they take her?"

"This way, doctor."

She pointed him to the room and opened the door. Dr. Hook stood stock-still in the doorway. "My God," was all he said.

After a thorough check-up, Hook gave the nurse orders to keep the girl under strict observation.

"She looks like she's been through a war," he said finally, shaking his head. "Well, there's no sign of sexual assault, but she's dinged up pretty bad. Internal injuries are unlikely, since her head seems to be the major site of assault, but we'll have her checked out anyway. Let's have an x-ray series and as many neural tests as we can get Steg-_nut_ to sign for. Any luck contacting the family?"

"No leads so far. Maybe no one's missed her yet."

Hook looked at the young woman lying comatose in the hospital bed. Her right eye was a swollen mass of purple tissue. Blue-black contusions covered her face and neck and angry red marks encircled her wrists where they had been bound.

"Jesus."

The nurse turned to go. Hook stopped her briefly. "Have any records of missing persons sent to my office. I want reports from the entire Northern East Coast from the past five years to the present."

Her eyes grew as big as saucers, but she agreed.

Hook saw her doubt. "She might not survive the night. Her parents should know what happened her- _before_ they're called in to identify her corpse. Everyone deserves a chance to say goodbye."

She shook her head. "It's just awful," she said and then turned and hurried away.

"Yes. Yes, it is." He turned back to the hospital bed where the battered girl lay. "Who tossed you out, little girl?"

-

_Fire! Fire! Burning, searing flames. _

_What am I doing here? _

_Screaming, panic, the cries of small children._

_Is this Hell?_

Sadie opened her eyes. There was no fire. She was lying in a bed, staring up at a stone ceiling, the last echo of a fading nightmare ebbing slowly from her immediate consciousness. She sat up and surveyed the room. She seemed to be in a hospital room.

_Yeah, in the basement of a Mexican clinic in a bad neighborhood. _

The walls were made of stone. Cracks radiated through it in places and cobwebs hung from the ceiling, creating a significantly creepy atmosphere.

_I'm alive, _she thought. _No pain. Jono must have beat the hell out of me. I remember- the start of it anyway. Whatever they gave me must have been good shit. _

Then she realized she was still wearing her clothes- not just her clothes, but her boots, too. She threw off the bed linens.

She scoffed. _Unbelievable. I hope I'm not paying for this._

"Your sense of gratitude is overwhelming."

Sadie started at the voice. It was familiar somehow. She searched the room again for the source. There, standing before her bed, was a great hairy beast. A low growling sound came from its throat, but it didn't appear to be an aggressive act. The animal regarded her curiously as she shrank back into the bed and pulled the sheets over her head.

"Oh, come on, now. I'm not that scary am I?"

Sadie pinched her eyes shut. The voice couldn't be coming from the anteater, could it? No, that was crazy. She was having some doper's dream. That was it. It was the painkillers. She was hallucinating- and starting to see a pattern. What was it about anteaters all of a sudden?

"You're not real."

"Aren't I?"

Sadie pulled the covers down and peeked at the thing. She discovered it had moved from the foot of her bed to the bedside. "Are you?" she squeaked.

"'Fraid so."

"You're an anteater."

"Yes, I suppose I am."

"You can talk."

"Yes."

Sadie glared at him crazily. "_Why_ can you talk?"

"I am not your run-of-the-mill anteater."

"Because we have _so _many of those around here."

"I am Anubis." His jade eyes darkened as he looked at her. "I am the Gatekeeper."

Anubis. She didn't know much about history, but she had your basic knowledge of Egyptian gods, and the one everybody knew was Anubis, and not because he made great crumb cake. "What?" she blinked in disbelief.

"I am the Gatekeeper between the living world and the world of the deceased. Do you understand what I am saying to you, Sadie?"

She shook her head. A terrifying realization struck her. "No, you- How did you know my name?"

"I have been expecting you."

"Are you telling me I'm dead?" she asked, her tone almost a whisper.

"Yes, Sadie. I am sorry."

She shook her head finally. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it," the animal said and turned his snout to point at a mirror on the wall.

Sadie approached it wearily. When she reached it, she gasped at her reflection. Her lips had taken on a darker hue, almost purple, and her skin was sickeningly pale, but what was most startling to her was her hair. It was brown- her natural hair color. _Damn, I paid a lot of money for that dye-job,_ was the first thought that came to mind, and the inappropriateness of it made her start to titter uncontrollably. She closed her eyes against the tears that streamed down her cheeks as she laughed harder, sinking to the floor when her knees gave out beneath her. Then she started to cry.

Anubis sat watching her. He had expected this. Of course. He saw it every day. What was new about it? He would give her some time to cope. Then, he would explain to her his proposition. He only hoped she would accept him, or things could become difficult.

Finally, she quieted. She wasn't done; she knew that. For now, though, she'd had all she could take. Emotional exhaustion overtook her, and she sat staring, as a catatonic patient would do. Anubis saw a little Mona Klingerman in her at that moment, and decided that his proposition could wait a few days. He lifted himself up and turned to leave.

"Call for me if you need me, Sadie." When she made no move to respond, he left her sitting there on the cement floor, her face void of emotion save her sad blue eyes, which stared endlessly at nothing.

-

Dr. Stegman stepped onto the elevator and smiled to himself as the doors shut. Hook, that imbecile. When he wasn't defying authority, he was off in a corner somewhere sleeping. If Dr. James' head wasn't deposited firmly up his ass without any sign of dislodging itself, then perhaps he could have seen this. It couldn't go on forever, though. He himself might be blacklisted for the time being while others like Hook ran around being insubordinate, but this was exactly the kind of situation where a powerful man like Jesse James fighting for him was a noteworthy boon.

_No matter what idiocy he might exhibit, _he thought, shaking his head.

Dr. James was still wrapped up in his Operation Morning Air campaign, continually evolving it in an attempt to keep up the hype. Steg had learned to take it along with the rest of the crew. It was the least he could do. He had helped him out of a pretty tight jam. He didn't even know how he'd done it. One day, Klingerman's mother had simply disappeared. He received no more hate-mail, no more giggles and glares as he passed, not even a crank caller.

Suddenly, the lights went out and the mechanical whirring of the elevator car slowed and stopped. The elevator was stuck again. A second later, the car was flooded with red as the emergency lights clicked on.

"Oh, of all the- "

"Hello, Steggy."

He jumped at the voice. Standing to his right was a disheveled-looking young man. He definitely hadn't been there a second ago.

"Damn it, Morlock, would you stop that!"

Paul Morlock grinned and shrugged. "It's the only way to make an entrance. Come on, don't say you wouldn't do it too if you could."

Steg rolled his eyes. "Where's the good doctor? I'd like to speak with an adult, please, if I could."

"Nice work today, covering Hook's back," Paul said, ignoring the condescending comment. "But then, you're a Good Samaritan that way, aren't you?"

"Please. No one else was going to do it."

"Since when do you care?"

"Where is this going, exactly?"

"That little harlot you saved was a nobody. As in, nobody would have missed her. No one would have pressed charges. It was the perfect opportunity for Hook to fall on his face with no major disruptions for the hospital."

"She could still die."

"And she probably will, but that's not the point, is it?" Paul said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"What?"

Paul shook his head. "You said you wanted our help. We can only do so much. You want Hook gone? Start acting like you mean it."

"Hey," Steg stepped closer to the boy and pointed a finger at him. "Don't act like I haven't done anything for you. You just run back to your ringmaster and tell him that little Mona Klingerman can be transferred anytime. I'm the only reason her parents haven't stuck her in a home, and let me assure you, I can put a stop to his little freakshow experiments with a simple phone call. Believe me, it would be much easier than spending my precious time on the phone explaining how much hope we have for her and how there's always another procedure we can try."

The boy's eyes burned into his for a moment and Steg could almost feel the rage radiating from him. Then it was gone as quickly as it came and Paul's charmed smile returned as if nothing had happened. He put up his hands and backed off.

"Come on, Steggy," he said congenially. "That's not what we're saying at all. We'd just like to fulfill our end of the bargain. Now, the boss and I have been doing a bit of behind the scenes work, and we've come up with something really dynamite. It will _really _knock this whole place for a six, if you know what I'm saying. It's going to take some work, and we're too far now to quit, but the Doc seems to think you've lost some of your old enthusiasm. For Hook to drop the ball on that patient and get James' attention that way would have been the perfect prelude to our plan."

"Months of probation can do wonders to take the fight out of you," Steg muttered.

Paul shook his head. "See, that's exactly the kind of thing we don't like to hear."

"Oh will you cut out that 'we' rubbish? Stop talking like you're in the Mafia. We're the only people in the car."

"Mind your blood-pressure, doctor," said a gravelly voice from behind him. "You mustn't get so excited."

Steg whirled to see Dr. Gottreich.

"Christ!" Steg choked out. He ran a hand nervously through his hair.

"Oh, no," the old man smiled. "Not even close."

"The only thing that would drive up my blood pressure, Dr. Gottreich, is the two of you scaring me to death for kicks and giggles at random. Half of the hospital thinks I'm insane as it is."

"More than half, I'd say," Paul chimed in.

Steg glared at him. Paul just smiled his smart-ass smile.

Gottreich spoke again. "Doctor, we will let you know when we are ready for you, but we have to know that you are ready for us. You have to be willing to help us help you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I'll wait for you. I'm ready and willing. Whatever you like."

Gottreich smiled again. "Good, doctor. Thank you. We'll be in touch. Good day."

Darkness engulfed the car once again and then the lights were back and Steg was alone. The elevator resumed and he prepared himself for human contact again. Bitter scowl- check. Cold, indignant glare- check. Normal air of miserableness with no hint that he'd been conferring with ghosts in the elevator- check.

_Ding!_

The doors opened, and he stepped out into the corridor and started for his office. He had some more paperwork to fill out for Little Miss Klingerman. A fresh batch of scans to confirm that things were indeed changing within that little nut of hers, though no one could be quite sure what. Was she getting better? Was she getting worse? Who knew? Only time would tell what was happening to her.

Dr. Stegman shuddered. He hoped not.

_No one knows what I've done to get mine, _he thought. _And with any luck, no one ever will._

To be continued…

-

AN: Whoo! A review! I'm all jazzed up now. Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July! I'm off to see the fireworks show!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still nothing.

"Good morning, ladies and gentleman," Dr. Jesse James beamed, sounding more like a ringmaster than a doctor heading a morning staff meeting. "I hope we're all enjoying our fresh morning air, today!"

"Can't we have one meeting without the morning air crap?" Elmer muttered under his breath. "We never had any of that when Steg was in charge of our meetings."

"The walls have ears, Elmer," Hook reminded him discreetly.

The doctors took their seats and Hook awaited his turn to speak. He fidgeted nervously, wiggling his leg incessantly until Dr. Draper reached under the table and put her hand on it. She smiled at him reassuringly and gave it a squeeze.

"Dr. Hook?" Dr. James said finally. "How is the Jane Doe from yesterday afternoon?"

"Deteriorating. The patient is suffering from multiple head injuries, exacerbated by heroin withdrawal and, at the moment, she is comatose." Hook took a deep breath. "I've decided to try the rapid-detox method."

Every eye in the room turned on him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "It's- _risky_, I know, but given the extent of her injuries-"

"Given the extent of her injuries, Dr. Hook, her body will self-destruct!" Dr. Stegman interrupted.

"If we don't get the opiates out of her system as soon as possible, and stop this slow withdrawal process, at the rate she is declining, she _will_ die. If we could speed up the process, we could bypass the withdrawal symptoms before her system totally gives out, allowing us to treat her other symptoms more effectively."

Steg scoffed. "Despite every scrap of literature that shows that this type of treatment is rarely successful, and often detrimental to even _healthy _patients?"

"Rapid-detox is very controversial, Dr. Hook," Dr. James chimed in. "Surely you would only consider this as a last resort."

"Under any other circumstances, I wouldn't even consider a treatment with such mixed reviews, but I believe it's the girl's only chance."

"Any luck contacting the parents?" Dr. Massingale interjected.

"We've got a few leads, but we've yet to hear back on any of them. We've got all the local news stations broadcasting, and I am sifting through missing person files from all up and down the coast. I'm prepared to start on the West Coast next if I don't find someone."

"Very well. Keep at it," Dr. James said.

"Hey, Dr. Hook?" Elmer piped up. "Is there any chance I could get in on this? Um, I mean, I've never seen a detox before- well, not a real one- I've seen the ones in the movies and you know how we're always hearing about doped up rock stars going into rehab and all that." He stopped himself, realizing he was starting to babble. "I was wondering if I might be able to assist.

Hook cleared his throat. "Elmer, I really don't think-"

"I think that's an excellent idea, Young Dr. Traff," Dr. James interrupted. "However, maybe Dr. Hook would be more comfortable if you shadowed him for this particular procedure." He looked at the two of them and smiled. "Too many cooks in the kitchen, you know."

"Okay!" Elmer turned back to Hook. "Would you mind?"

Hook hesitated for a second. "Of course not."

He sighed, partly in relief and also apprehension. He had a sinking feeling his patient was not going to respond well. Still, if she had any chance of surviving this at all, this was it. Dr. James' faith in his decision both fortified his determination and made him doubt. Dr. James _always _had faith in his decisions, but what if Steg was right? Surely if someone so careless knew enough to stay away from rapid-detox, maybe he was sentencing his patient to death. What if, this time, things just didn't work out?

He felt Chris' hand on his leg again and was met with another reassuring smile.

_You done good, chief._

Hook shook his head. _I hope to God, I've got this right._

-

Sadie meandered aimlessly. The halls seemed so dark, so cold. She was lost._ I guess you would call this lost,_ she thought dully._ I don't really know where I am, but where would I go if I did? _"Anubis!" she called finally. "Anubis, I'm lost, help me!" She looked around desperately, feeling like a child. She stopped and leaned her back against the wall, feeling her eyes well up again. "_Someone, _help me," she said quietly, looking up and down the empty corridor. "Anyone," she whispered, burying her head in her hands.

"You're not dead."

"Oh!" Sadie cried. She looked up to see a boy leaning on his shoulder against the wall. He definitely hadn't been there a second ago. "Who are you?"

"You said anyone, so here I am." His dark eyes regarded her gravely. "And I'm here to tell you, you're not dead."

"What?"

"Follow me."

-

"All right. Let's do this. Administer the anesthesia," Hook began.

"Why would you give her anesthesia?" Elmer asked. "I mean, if she's already out, why take the risk?"

"The detox works very quickly, causing withdrawal symptoms to occur all at once, rather than gradually. If, by any chance, the patient were to wake up, the shock alone could kill her. The pain would be unbearable." He turned to the nurse. "Let's get 40 millis naltrexone in an IV drip, and let's get some epi ready incase we go into defib," he added, crossing his fingers. The nurse flitted busily, obeying his every command. Elmer looked on, being careful to stay out of the way.

"If the symptoms happen all at once, won't that put more stress on her than letting the withdrawal happen on its own?"

"It's become clear, to me at least, that if she keeps on like this, she won't survive. The expedited withdrawal will be a shock to her system to say the least, but in the long run, it could improve her chances."

"Dr. Hook?"

"Yes, Elmer."

"Do you think she'll make it?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But this is the best chance she's got."

Sadie stood at the end of the bed, watching the scene with a fascinated detachment. She saw herself on the bed, in a hospital gown, intubated, wires coming off of her everywhere, and yet it didn't seem like her. It wasn't her, _couldn't _be her… could it?

She wasn't dead. Why had Anubis told her that? She was alive. Critical condition or not, she was alive.

She sensed the dark presence that brought her there was still beside her. "Why would he lie to me?"

"Maybe he has an agenda- one where you would be worth more to him dead than alive." He saw her working her jaw and he could tell she was losing her cool.

"This doctor- does he know what he's doing?" she asked him.

"It's a very risky procedure they're performing. He's conflicted."

"Conflicted," Sadie said, suddenly annoyed with him. "What the hell does that mean?"

The boy looked at her. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "It means he doesn't have much hope for you. He knows this is your only chance, but it's also likely this could, and probably will, kill you. He doesn't want to be the one who fought for the controversial procedure that killed his patient. That's what the hell that means."

Sadie felt her spirit wilt. She's dead, she's not dead, then she's alive with little chance of staying that way for long. Her head was spinning. "I think I need to sit down." She groped her way to a chair and plopped down in it, holding her head. How had she gotten here?

-

Gottreich sat smoking his pipe and tapping his gnarled fingers on the table. "She's been communing with the Gatekeeper. We may be seeing more of her than we originally thought."

Paul's face broke into a grin. "I don't know if she'll be _communing_ with him again anytime soon." When Gottreich shot him an inquisitive glance, he continued. "Fuzzy tried to pull the wool over her eyes. He told her she was dead. When I showed her otherwise, she got pretty bent out of shape."

Gottreich knitted his brow for a moment before he spoke. "He didn't even have the decency to wait until _after _she was dead?" The old man chortled. "He is an ambitious recruiter."

"You seem impressed, Doc."

"No, merely surprised. It thought he had more respect than that."

Paul snorted. "Hardly."

-

"We've got a full house, here at the Kingdom," Abel said as he hauled the dripping mop out of the bucket and slapped it on the floor.

"Yes," Christa confirmed pushing her own mop at the other end of the hall. "They can hide from everyone else but not from us."

"Do you think we have room for one more?" Abel leaned on his mop.

Christa stopped mopping and smiled. "Room for one more? I don't know if the Kingdom is big enough."

"Toooo laaaate," Abel brayed, sending the two orderlies into fits of giggles.

-

When Christine Draper arrived to start her shift that night, she expected to see Hook just getting off his. She did not, and when she checked his office and the hospital room of his critical patient and didn't find him, she didn't need to see the patient's empty bed to know something had gone wrong.

"Carrie, have you seen Dr. Hook?"

The young nurse smiled apologetically. "I haven't seen him. He lost his patient about an hour ago, though. He seemed to take it kind of hard."

Chris kept asking around until she found him sitting in the stairwell of the east wing. "Hey," she said as gently as she could. "I heard what happened, and I'm sorry."

He didn't look at her. "I should have waited."

She went to him and sat on the steps next to him. "It wasn't your fault."

"Of course not. I'm only her doctor." He checked himself. "_Was_ only her doctor."

"Exactly, and you did what you thought was right."

"Her parents are going to get the call that we've found their daughter, only to find that we've killed her."

Chris grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. "Listen, you did everything you could, using your best judgement. There was nothing else you _could _do. You knew the odds were stacked against her. This was her only shot, and if it didn't work, you would have lost her anyway."

She let go of the shocked man, who blinked at her for several seconds.

"Sooner or later, you're going to have to ditch that judge inside of you," she continued. "He's downright toxic."

Hook suddenly chuckled. "You sound like Sally."

Chris smiled, relieved to see him lightening up, if only for a moment.

The moment was interrupted when a wide-eyed nurse opened the door. "Oh, thank goodness, you're still here," she said breathlessly. "Dr. Hook, we've found Jane Doe's parents." She bit her lip. "They're here."

To be continued…

AN: Thanks so much to those of you who waited on me to update. Second year at college has begun for me, and many other things have gone down around here as well. Things should be evening out in a bit, so next update shouldn't take quite so long. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Amended Disclaimer: No part of Kingdom Hospital is mine. It belongs to Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lars von Trier, Richard Dooling, and Niels Vørsel, not exactly in that order. Just felt obligated to fix that.

Chapter 6

Sadie had watched coldly as a team of nurses came and hauled her body away. She had been alone when it happened- the boy had long since disappeared- and though she had tried to prepare herself for it, she had never seen anyone die before. The sustained _beeeep!_ of the monitor nearly drove her crazy in the time it took for her doctor to arrive with a team of nurses. She hadn't convulsed, hadn't twitched or choked. She'd just laid there, impossibly still while they poked and prodded her, injected her, and even tried CPR, but to no avail.

She was dead as a doornail.

The doctor finally stopped, and leaned forward on the bed. For a moment, it looked like he was going to faint, and a nurse inquired as to whether he was all right.

"I'm fine," he said, straightening and looking at his watch. "Time of death, 7:02 pm.

Let's get her down to Dr. Havens."

As she stood there, reliving the last moments of her life, she wondered how many people had the view that she'd had. Was this how it happened? Where was that light you were supposed to see? Was she going to be here forever?

Anubis would probably know these things, but could she trust him? He had lied to her when it had been a matter of life and death, so when _wouldn't _he lie to her? Of course, life and death were every day occurrences to him. That was just the business he was in. Plus, there was something about him- almost familiar- that just felt wrong.

She shook her head. "What am I going to do?"

What about that boy? Something didn't feel right about him, either, but she guessed he was closer to her situation than Anubis. Maybe she would ask him, if she ever saw him again.

Finally, at a loss, she decided to follow her body. She reached the door and looked down the hall just in time to see her gurney round a corner. She hurried to catch up. There was no telling where the morgue was, and she wasn't exactly in a position to ask directions.

-

As he walked down the corridor to the main foyer of the hospital, Hook's body felt like it was made of lead. Every effort he'd made to keep this girl alive had failed, and now he had brought her parents here with the promise that he had found their daughter only to tell them that she was dead. He paused at the double-doors. This was not going to be easy. He pushed past them.

"Mr. And Mrs. Miller?" He was greeted by a tired-looking middle-aged couple.

"Yes?" the woman said, her eyes, despite the haggardness of her features, were bright, inquisitive. Hopeful. The one thing Hook had dreaded.

"I know you've traveled a long way to see your daughter, but when she came to us, she was seriously injured. She had- extensive cranial injuries. We did everything we could, but she passed away a few hours ago. I'm sorry."

The woman's face knotted in confusion and then fell. A startling "oh" escaped her throat and she collapsed into her husband. He caught her easily, had done it before, and looked up at Hook.

"You're sure it's her?" he asked quietly.

Hook nodded. "Yes, though you'll have to identify her for legal reasons. I'm very sorry."

The man's chin quivered. He pressed his lips tight against it and squeezed his eyes shut as he held his wife who was now sobbing openly.

Hook began, "I'll give you a moment to-"

"No!" the woman cried suddenly. "No, I don't want a _moment! _I want to see my daughter!"

"Mrs. Miller, under the circumstances, I don't think it's wise-"

"Why?Why can't I see my own daughter?"

"Leslie-" Mr. Miller tried, but gave up, lacking the strength.

"Your daughter's injuries were _extensive, _Mrs. Miller. I just think you should wait a little while. The shock might be a bit much."

"God damn it, she's dead! It doesn't get much more shocking than that!" she wailed miserably and her hand flew up to her mouth as if she had surprised herself with her own words. "Please," she said softly. "Let me see my baby."

Dr. Hook hesitated. "We have reason to suspect she was murdered."

"What?" The mother cried. "What happened to her? I want to see her!"

"Mrs. Miller-"

"I want to see my child!" She lunged for him, but her husband held her back.

"Please, Doctor," he said desperately.

"Mr. Miller, your wife is in a very delicate state. I strongly recommend you wait."

"We haven't seen our daughter in over two years," he replied evenly. "We've been- _prepared_ in just about every way imaginable for this kind of scenario." His voice cracked, as he said, "Let us see her, please."

Finally, Hook spoke. "This way," he conceded and led them down the hall to the morgue.

-

_This is so twisted, _Sadie thought. What else was there to think? There was nothing left to think. There was nothing left to do, so she waited, sitting on the tile floor, staring up at a big toe sticking out from under the sheet that covered her body on the corner's table.

She didn't know what she was waiting for, but something had to happen. You had to go _somewhere _after you died or she figured there'd be a lot more people here. This was a hospital after all. There had to be something more than _this._

_Dead toe…_

_My dead toe…_

She heard voices out in the hall and looked at the door apprehensively, suddenly feeling like she shouldn't be there, but she stayed put. In a moment, she found out what she was waiting for.

The doors swung open. Tears sprang to her eyes when she saw her mother fairly fling herself into the room, her father trudging after her. Her doctor followed close behind.

The half-crazed woman rushed for the body on the table, but her husband caught her finally and pulled her roughly back. "Stop it, Leslie! Get a hold of yourself, for God's sake!" It was clear his patience was wearing thin. Sadie had never seen him talk to her mother that way, but he was always trying to hold things together. It just wasn't working this time.

"It's not going to work," she whispered. "Let her go, Dad."

As if he'd heard her, Sadie's father released his grip on her mother. She threw herself on the body on the table, bawling unintelligibly.

Sadie's heart broke. Her eyes clouded again and she let the tears stream down her cheeks. "Mom- Mama, don't cry." She reached out and tried to touch her, but her hand passed right through. She let out a frustrated sob. Finally, she looked defeatedly up at her father, who was still standing some distance away.

"Help her, Dad. Please, come help."

He seemed to snap out of his daze and moved dutifully to put his arms around the distraught woman. "Come on, sweetheart." Gently, he pulled her away from the body.

Dr. Hook cleared his throat. "Perhaps you'd like to take some time to compose yourself before identification?"

"Dr. Hook, I think we've waited long enough." Mr. Miller said, not unkindly. "We'd like to see her now."

The doctor proceeded obediently to the table.

_Oh no, _Sadie thought.

He reached for the sheet.

"Don't do it, Doctor," Sadie pleaded.

He pulled it down, revealing the contused face of the broken girl's corpse.

Her mother screamed. She actually screamed. Sadie had never heard anything like it. She felt so helpless. There was nothing she could do but stand by and watch her mother crumple, her father trying to keep his composure and prop up his wife. In the end, it was a very messy scene. A nurse had to be brought in to administer a sedative to her mother. Her father, who had been able to remain calm throughout the ordeal, finally broke down upon her sedation, collapsing in a chair against the far wall. Hook, unsure of exactly what to do, mumbled a harried apology and something about giving them a moment to compose themselves and left the room.

Sadie watched a nurse help her mother to a chair. She wished she could have done it, but she couldn't touch her mother and she couldn't comfort her father. She hadn't realized how much she had missed them. It was torturous knowing that they had no idea she was there with them.

_But he heard me, somehow, _Sadie thought, looking at her father. She walked over to where he sat. "I love you, Daddy," she said tearfully. "I'm sorry."

His breath caught in his throat. He raised his head and looked around the room. He could have sworn he heard-

"Dad?" Sadie was hopeful for the first time in days. "Daddy, can you hear me?"

"Sadie?" He stood up_. "Sadie?"_

"Dad, I'm right here!" She stood in front of him and looked into his face, but he was looking through her. "Dad?" Sadie wilted. He still couldn't see her. She looked over at her mother, doped, on the verge of catatonia. "Mom?" Her mother closed her eyes. A tear glistened at the corner of one of them.

She turned back to her father. He was standing crookedly, leaning on one leg, arms dangling lifelessly at his sides. He shook his head. She could see the disappointment in his eyes, the pain.

The nurse returned, smiling a sympathetic smile. "How is Mrs. Miller?" she asked.

He turned and looked at her. "She'll be fine," he sad, a final note to his voice. "Come on, Leslie. Let's go home." He went to her and helped her up. She complied quietly. He handed her off to the nurse and paused over the body. He placed his hand on his dead daughter's forehead. "Goodbye, sweetheart," he managed, drawing a shaky breath before turning to leave.

Sadie followed him to the door, clamoring desperately. "Daddy, I'm here! Daddy, don't leave me!" He reached the door and stopped, turning around and looking around the room one last time.

"Daddy, don't go!"

The door swung shut behind him and he was gone. "Daddy!" She tried to follow, but a pair of strong arms held her back. "Let them go,  
Sadie," a familiar voice said softly in her ear. "Leave your past behind you."

"No!" she shrieked, fighting her restraints. "Mom! Dad, come back! Don't leave me here!"

"Sadie!" Anubis spun her around to face him and shook her. "Sadie! Listen to me!"

She stopped, looking at him, confused. He looked like Paul, but his hair was long and black and he was wearing a leather jacket. "Anubis? But I thought-"

"You think a lot of things about me, most of them gross assumptions."

"Well, what should I think? If you'd gotten your way I would have never known they were here! You liedto me!"

"And what good did it do, seeing yourself that way? Seeing your parents? Listen to me, Sadie. I know what I'm talking about-"

She wrenched herself away from him. Her cheeks still glistened, but rage was taking over. "Is this how it's going to be?"

The sudden change took him aback. "What do you mean?"

"You telling everyone what's best for them? Taking the new girl under your wing? Nurturing her poor, little shattered psyche back to health? Is this what I have to look forward to?" She looked around. "Am I going to be _here_ forever?"

"That depends on you, Sadie."

"Oh!" she growled slapping her forehead. "It would be miracle if I ever got a straight answer out of- you?" She opened her eyes to discover he was gone.

"Anubis?" she squeaked. There was no reply. She was alone again. She glanced tentatively at the corpse on the table. "I've got to get out of here." She left the morgue- for where, she didn't know- anywhere but the morgue, really. Maybe she would run into Anubis again, or maybe she would find the boy, but suddenly she felt that she would settle for anyone's company at the moment. She hoped all of her days wouldn't be so lonely here. However, a more sinister probability entered her mind that she hadn't considered yet, but when it struck her, it would haunt her day and night until it reached it's inevitable, however repulsive, conclusion.

To be continued…

A/N: Finally, a new chapter! And just in time for All Soul's Day! Sorry all, about the wait. Take it from me, kiddies. DON'T go to college for science (biomedical, no less) if you want to keep one creative bone in your body. I am moving to a farm house, though, with a POND, and if that isn't conducive to creative writing, I don't know what is. So, once again, Happy All Soul's Day! Don't start any fires. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Refer to previous.

From that day forward, Sadie spent most of her time in the ER wandering, pacing back and forth behind the glass paneling that looked like it was laced with chicken wire. She knew Frankie and she knew Ruby, and as horrifying a thought as it was, she expected to see her only friend in the world wheeled in on a gurney any minute.

More than once Otto had done a double take while looking at his security monitors late at night. He could have sworn he saw someone, but the screens never showed any evidence that anyone had been there. "Either my eyes are going again, or zee spooks are beck," he'd said to Bobby Druse who had shaken his head.

"Don't tell Mama, or she'll find a way to get back in here again."

"Did vee ever have to tell her before?"

Finally, one day, it happened.

Sadie flitted around, trying desperately to see what was going on. Doctors swarmed. They worked tirelessly to put the broken girl back together. Sadie knew it was pointless, but her mind wouldn't let it alone.

_Maybe she'll pull through. She's younger. She's stronger. She's not a druggie like me. What did that doctor say? Massive head trauma. Blood pooling in her cranium. Is that all?_

Dr. Hook sighed. He straightened and looked around the operating table.

Sadie's breath caught in her throat.

Finally he spoke. "All right, she's stable."

Sadie collapsed. She lay on her back on the floor and started to giggle euphorically.

_She's stable._

"Did you hear that?"

Sadie sat up and leaned back on her arms. Dr. Hook was staring at something. The others were staring at him, equally puzzled.

"Hear what?" a nurse asked.

Sadie followed Hook's gaze to a round mirror up on the wall. He was looking directly at her. She started. _He can't really see me, can he?_

The doctor shook his head. "Uh, nothing. Never mind. Let's get her a new IV and get her out of ICU. I think she's going to be all right."

Sadie watched the doctors clean up while the nurse prepared Ruby for transit and then followed the nurse that wheeled the girl into a room of her own. Another nurse was waiting and she helped hoist Ruby into her hospital bed.

_Hoist may be too strong a word,_ Sadie thought. _She's thin as a rake._ She wondered why she'd never noticed it before. Was she really so wrapped up in herself that she couldn't see her best friend's deteriorating health? Why hadn't she let her move in with her? They could have split the rent and…

_You would have hit her up for drug money, and what you couldn't get out of her the genteel way, you would steal._

The thought appalled her at first, but she allowed with a resigned sigh that it was true. She would have stolen from her best friend if it meant she could get her fix. Now out of the grip of the dope that had controlled her life for the past three years, she could see that.

It just had to kill her first. How had she let it go this far? She was dead, her best friend lay battered and almost unrecognizable, and it was her own fault. If she had quit the heroin, or even if she could have taken it a little slower, she wouldn't be here. She'd have been able to pay her debts, Ruby wouldn't have had to question where she'd gone, and Frankie wouldn't have had to do what he did.

_No, _she thought bitterly, _No, Frankie didn't have to do anything. All Frankie had to do was play on our weaknesses until we… how had he said it? Until we 'became a liability.' _

The only real preventative measures she could see involved never having met Ruby in the first place. She should have never gone to that party. Her parents had been right. She was too young. She hadn't known what she was getting into when, at fourteen years of age, in a basement belonging to a high school senior that she hadn't even known, and stoned off of her ass, she had said yes to something the older kids called 'smack.'

It would make her feel good, they'd said. A high like she'd never known- 10 times more powerful than what she was feeling on that cheap dope they'd smoked only a few minutes ago.

_Nice, _she'd thought with a giggle and a shrug. "Count me in," she'd said nonchalantly.

Now her eyes filled with tears at the thought of it. It _had_ been amazing, but at what cost? Coming down off of the two drugs had been horrid. She'd missed school on Monday, even though the party had been on Friday night. Why? Because she had gone back for more. She spent the weekend in a stupor, laying in bed with the curtains drawn while her mother nervously flitted in and out periodically to see if she was all right.

Her mother. She hadn't seen her mother or her father in two years. She missed them. That was no secret, but she couldn't have gone back. She had been found out. Her father, finally fed up with his daughter's failing grades and declining attitude toward all things authoritative, went through her room and discovered the needles she'd stashed under her bed. When she got home late from school that day, he was waiting for her.

Sadie shut her eyes against the memory.

She heard something stir within the room. She opened her eyes again and saw Ruby move a little under the bed sheet.

_Stop the self-pity,_ she chastised herslef._ Your time's up. Your best friend could be dying. Be there for her. _

"She's not dying!" she said aloud, startling herself with the sound of her own voice.

Ruby moaned and her eyes fluttered open. She regarded the room curiously for a moment before her eyes settled on Sadie.

She started. "Can you see me?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Ruby blinked. Then, Sadie knew that something was wrong. Those weren't Ruby's eyes. Those eyes were dark. Ruby's eyes were hazel.

Sadie backed away.

"What

the

_hell?"_

Ruby stirred and sat up, strange black eyes staring Sadie down.

"You're not Ruby," Sadie whimpered.

Ruby opened her mouth and a male voice spoke. "No shit, Sherlock."

"Who are you and what are you doing with her? Leave her alone. Can't you see she's hurt?"

A smile crept across Ruby's face and the voice chuckled. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"You're pretty tough picking on a girl."

The smile was gone and the dark eyes flashed. "I'd watch it if I were you, missy. If we're going to be roomies, we're going to have to learn to get along."

"You don't scare me."

Sadie watched as the eyes rolled up in the back of Ruby's head and her body flopped lifelessly back onto the bed.

"What can I do to change your mind?" That same rasping voice that had come from Ruby now whispered in her ear.

Sadie spun to face it and came face to face with a vampire. Grotesque, yellowed fangs glinted as he bared them, his face twisted in a ferocious sneer. She shrieked and turned to run, but he was there again in front of her. She covered her face. "Leave us a lone! Please, just leave us alone!"

"Don't scare ya, huh?"

Sadie opened her eyes and looked up into the face of a boy- not a vampire, a boy. He looked young, around 15 or 16 years old. His black eyes regarded her amusedly.

"How did you do that?" she blushed, embarrassed that she'd been scared so badly by a _boy._ She had faced the Gatekeeper, scary teeth and all. _Seems to be a trend around here._

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

"Isn't it a little late for threats like that?"

He stepped closer to her. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you can't be harmed."

"Whoa! Okay, why don't you just stay over there."

He smiled. "Make me."

"What are you, _twelve?"_

"Actually, 65." He shrugged. "But who's counting?"

Sadie shook her head. "Look, I don't know who you are, but I am really not in the mood for this. I have a friend over there. Her name is Ruby, and she's hurt bad. I'd really like to be there when she wakes up."

"She's not gonna wake up."

"What?"

"I said, she's not going to wake up," he said, enunciating the words slowly.

"You bastard!" she cried, glaring at him incredulously. "How dare you!"

He smiled, almost innocently, but he said nothing. Instead, he twiddled his fingers in a "toodle-oo" gesture as he slowly faded from view and disappeared into thin air.

Sadie turned back to her friend.

-

"Have you ever experienced déjà vu?" Hook asked Chris as he crawled into bed next to her.

Chris laughed. "Once, I think. During a Joni Mitchell concert. Why?"

"I think I just had a spell."

"What?"

Hook laid on his back a minute, collecting his thoughts before he spoke: "There's a Jane Doe upstairs. She was found alongside the highway- no purse, no wallet, no I.D.- with extensive head trauma."

"Whoa."

Hook nodded. "Tox screens have come up negative for drugs."

"So, no withdrawal to deal with this time?"

"Exactly."

"Well, that bodes well, doesn't it?"

"I hope so." He turned over and faced her. "There's something else." He paused, wondering if she would think he was crazy.

"Yeees?" she said, when he made no move to go on. _Always with the drama_, she thought.

"I think something was in the OR with me today."

"It wasn't an anteater, was it?"

Hook chuckled. "No, not an anteater." He thought back. "I don't know what I saw, or if I saw anything at all. Maybe this last case was harder on me than I thought-"

"Hook," Chris stopped him. "What did you see?"

"A girl," he said, watching for her reaction. "A girl with brown hair and street clothes. She was sitting on the floor and I saw her in the mirror. And I didn't just see her- I heard her laughing. I know how this sounds, but-"

Chris furrowed her brow. "Oh, no. Oh, _no,_"she groaned, interrupting him again. "I thought our ghost hunting days were over!"

Hook shook his head. "Who knows. Maybe Sally was wrong."

"You say it was a girl? Like Mary?"

"No, she was older. A teenager. Maybe in her early twenties? I didn't get a very good look."

"What was she wearing?"

He thought back. "Now that I think about it, not much."

Chris raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"Well, I don't know," he said sheepishly. "Black boots, short skirt, halter top. She was dressed to entertain. I can tell you that." He blushed despite himself when he saw Chris' amused expression. "What?" he said indignantly. "It's not like I made her up."

"Of course not, dear." Chris giggled.

"I didn't!"

"Hey, it's perfectly healthy for a man of your age and profession. You lead a very stressful life."

"Yeah, right. Come over here. I think I need a little stress-relief."

Chris laughed again as he leaned over and kissed her.

Later, Hook lay wide awake as Chris began to drift off to sleep. "I didn't imagine her."

"I know," Chris said drowsily.

To be continued…

AN: -GASP- Another chapter? In the middle of finals week?? What madness is this?? All right, people, I've got two months of vacation time coming up starting next week (oooh yeaaah), so things should start picking up around here. Don't lose faith! Good things are coming… ;)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of value and I'm not making any money. I'm just a poor science major looking for a creative outlet.

Chapter 8

Sadie sat by Ruby's bedside. She'd lost track of how long she'd been there. She only knew that she hadn't left her side since she came in. The girl hadn't woken up, but Sadie remained hopeful. She couldn't touch her, but she laid her hand next to Ruby's and said, "I'll get him, Ruby. I'm going to get him for this. I don't know how, but I'll find a way."

"Sadie." A familiar voice. She turned to see the anteater.

"What do you want?"

"Your words carry far in a place like this."

"Oh?" she said nonchalantly. "Something spark your interest?"

"You can't help her, Sadie, least of all by getting back at Frankie."

She looked at him sharply. "Why don't you keep that big fat snout out of my business?"

"If he is harmed, it will be my business," he stated simply. He began to amble toward her. "You can't take someone before their time. It disrupts the balance of things."

Sadie scowled. She wasn't in the mood for a lecture. "I'm from the Bronx. I can do whatever I damn well please."

"Not in my house."

"I didn't ask to come here."

He sat back on his haunches, unimpressed. "You're not the only one with a chip on your shoulder. Everyone here has a sob story. Let it go. What's past is past."

"Oh, excuse me if I had a life before I got whacked by a man whose only hero was Joe Pesci. Excuse me if I had a family, friends, people I cared about-"

The animal's fir bristled. "You didn't have any of those things!" he growled. "You gave them up when you hit the needle."

She clenched her teeth. "Get out."

Anubis appeared to collect himself. The fire left his eyes as he looked away, as if something off in the distance had caught his attention. He seemed to be listening to something Sadie couldn't hear. When he turned back to her, his tone had changed. "I can see you're not in the mood to talk," he said shortly, rising off his haunches. "Just one thing, Sadie. If you heed anything I say, let it be this: be weary of dangerous liaisons. Around here, it's all about who you know."

Sadie watched him disappear through a wall. When he had gone, she stood and began to pace.

"You look restless."

She jumped and spun around. The boy was sitting in her chair. "_Gawd,_ why does everyone insist on doing that to me?"

He tipped his head to the side and gave her a lopsided grin.

Sadie stared back at him dumbly. "Uh, can I help you with something?"

"No, but I think I can help you," he replied.

Sadie eyed him suspiciously. "Now why would you want to do that?"

He shrugged. "What can I say? I like chaos." He stood and held his hand out to her. "The name's Paul."

Sadie cocked an eyebrow.

"All right," he said, retracting it. "That's fine. Hey, who could blame you? I guess I'll just take off." He started to fade a way.

"Wait!" Sadie called. "Hold on. You said you could help me?"

He rematerialized. His smile returned. "Sure, that is, assuming you need help."

"I might."

"Hmmm… I assume you've realized by now that we can't leave here." A look passed over Sadie's face that told Paul that she had and she was not happy about it. He turned and walked to Ruby's bedside. "Such a pity when a life is cut short. I should know."

"Hey, she's still alive. She could still make it."

Paul looked back at her. "He'd tell you that, I'm sure, The Great Snoutman."

Sadie laughed. "He wouldn't have told me that much. He'd keep me in the dark if he could. He says I can't get even with the mook that hit Ruby- that it would disrupt things."

"Can't? No, I'm sure that's not what he meant. Shouldn't perhaps." His dark eyes gleamed and he grinned.

"So there is a way?"

"Why sure."

"But I thought we couldn't leave the hospital."

"There are ways around that."

Sadie's eyes burned into his. "Show me."

"All right, but we'll need a test subject." Paul's Cheshire Cat grin grew wider. "And I know just the one."

-

Sally Druse was sitting in her favorite chair, humming a little tune to herself as she sipped her tea and watched her stories, when the first flash hit her. She cried out, spilling her tea.

"Oh, no," she said when it had passed, but as soon as the words left her mouth, another came, then another and another. Bobby found her lying on the floor 45 minutes later.

-

"Hook!" He looked up and saw Chris standing in the doorway. She was out of breath.

"My God, Chris, what's wrong?"

"It's Sally."

He came with her immediately. "What happened to her?" he asked as they hurried down the corridor.

"Her son found her on the floor. She was out cold and she looked pretty mussed up. He managed to bring her around before the paramedics got there. No one knows how long she was out."

"Has she been evaluated?"

"Not yet. She just got in."

They reached the ER and found Sally behind a blue curtain. She looked like hell.

"Hey, Mrs. D," Hook said with a smile.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Hook. How are you?" She returned his smile, though there was obviously a fair amount of effort behind it.

"I'm just fine. How about you? How are you feeling? Any dizziness, numbness, pins and needles, anything weird?" He took out a penlight and checked her eyes.

"Oh, well, nothing like that. I am quite tired, though." She reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face and something caught Hook's eye.

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked. He took one of her hands and turned it palm up. Three crescent-shaped indentations in the middle of her palm stood out red against her pale skin.

_Nail marks,_ he observed. _Seizure._

She hesitated and looked at her son before she answered. "No, Doctor, I don't remember a thing," she said finally.

"Okay, well you just sit tight. We'll get to the bottom of this." He turned to Nurse Bannerman. "IV-drip, blood work, tox screen, the works." He addressed Dr. Draper next. "We're going to have to put in for an MRI and CT scan," he said before turning back to Sally. "All right, Mrs. D, we'll be back in a bit with your test results. If you remember anything, let one of the nurses know right away." Dr. Hook turned to go, but Sally caught his harm.

"Doctor-" she began weakly.

"Mrs. Druse," the nurse said sternly. "You really should rest. Let the doctor-"

"No, let her talk," Hook stopped her. "What is it, Sally?"

She looked at Bobby again and motioned for Hook to come closer. "They're back, he whispered in his ear. She shook her head and began taking on the disjointed way of speaking she did when she was connected to something. "No, not back. They never left. They've been here all along, waiting."

Hook drew back. "Sally, who's back?"

"You know," she said and he did, though he didn't want to believe it.

"You said they were gone, Mrs. D," Hook said. By now, he was whispering as well. "The earthquakes have-"

"Just because you can't feel them, Dr. Hook, does not mean they aren't there." She looked around the room. "They're still here, all right. And I fear they've taken others. There are more now than before." Sally closed her eyes. "And something darker. I can't make it out. It's like they've blocked the channel."

"Can they do that?"

"Oh yes, they've become very strong. They put me here. I was psychically attacked."

Bobby spoke up. "Dr. Hook, can I talk to you?"

He broke away from Sally's pressing gaze. "Sure, Bobby."

"Outside?" Bobby said, glancing sideways at his mother.

"I'm not crazy, Bobby," Sally said, her voice regaining some of its strength. "Dr. Hook knows that, so don't even try."

"I'm not, Mama. I just want to talk to the doctor. You rest. I'll be right back."

"Sally scoffed. "Rest!" She laughed harshly. "I'm under attack and he wants me to rest," she said to the nurse, who only raised her eyebrows.

Bobby pulled the curtain and he and Hook moved out of earshot.

"She's not well, Dr. Hook," Bobby stated. "I know my mother. Something is very wrong with her."

"She says she was attacked?"

"_Psychically_ attacked, Doctor," Bobby clarified. "Now, we all know what went down here a few months ago, but could it be possible that she really is starting to lose it? She's getting up in years and she's had episodes like this before. Dr. Massingale said that if she wouldn't keep up her drug regimen, they wouldn't treat her and her condition would just get worse."

"When was her last seizure?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, a little over a year ago, before everything got weird around here."

"All right, listen, Bobby, we're going to try and find out what happened. We don't know that she's really had a seizure at all, so once we rule out a few things, then we'll talk about pills and treatment options."

"But Dr. Massingale-"

"I am not Dr. Massingale. As for what happened before-" Hook trailed off when a team of nurses wheeled in a violently convulsing girl on a stretcher. It was Mona Klingerman.

"Doctor? Dr. Hook, what's wrong?" Bobby turned around to see what Hook was looking at. "Jesus," he remarked as the girl fairly threw herself off of the stretcher.

"Restrain her!" her attending physician barked.

"What's wrong with her?" Hook asked him.

Dr. Clooney shook his head. "She's been having seizures. This is the most violent one, yet. I have no idea what's going on with her." He lowered his voice. "I don't know what Steg did to her, but I hope I never have to clean up one of his messes again. This girl is suffering terribly."

"It's been months. Do you really think it's residual?"

"I don't know what else it could be. She was doing all right for a while, then a few weeks ago, her progress plateaued. Now she's backsliding. I just don't get it. She's perfectly healthy in every other respect- well, aside from the obvious."

Hook looked at Mona seizing on the stretcher as nurses administered anticonvulsants and valium, then behind him at the blue curtain that concealed Mrs. Druse. "What is going on, here?"

-

"Good, that was perfect," Paul coached. He stood behind Sadie, who had closed her eyes for better concentration, with his hands laid on her shoulders. "Now," he continued. "Don't think of it as being two places at once. Think of it as taking a little piece of yourself and sending it away. If you practice it that way, eventually you'll be able to work both consciousnesses independently of each other. All right? You got her? Now shock her with everything you've got." Paul took his hands off of her shoulders and stood back.

Sadie concentrated on the target Paul had selected for her. The old woman was closer now, so why wasn't anything happening? Suddenly, she felt a little wobbly. She fell down on all fours, barely able to hold up her head, the pleats of her skirt gave her the look of a wilted flower.

"What's wrong with me?" she demanded, frustrated.

"Calm down, little girl. Your power will come back. You've just drained your reserves temporarily, that's all," he said with a grin as he helped her up.

"Morlock!" Paul started at the voice and involuntarily tightened his grin on her arms. The voice was coming from the dusty intercoms that hung on the walls. "Morlock!" the voice boomed again. "Where has he gotten to, now? Paul Morlock, you were under strict orders not to wander off!"

"Who is _that?" _Sadie asked.

"I gotta go," he said. He dropped his hands from her arms and hurried off.

"Wait, where are you going? Paul, who is that?"

"I have to _go_, Sadie," he said, already halfway down the hall.

"Can I come with you?"

"No!" He came back to her. "No, do no not follow me, whatever you do."

"But-"

"Promise me! Swear!"

"Okay, I swear, but what do I do now?"

"Wait until your powers come back before practicing anymore," Paul said as he began to trot away. "If you drain them too much, it will be harder to get them to come back."

"Where do I go?"

"Take the elevator. I'll find you," he called over his shoulder as he turned a corner and was gone.

"Take the elevator?" Sadie snorted. "Take the freakin' elevator? Where the hell am I, Macy's?" She giggled at her own stupid joke as she wandered down the hall to find this aforementioned elevator. "23rd floor- menswear and outdoor apparel."

"SADIE!!!" an angry voice resounded over the loudspeakers. She recognized it immediately.

_Oh shit._

Sadie ran blindly down a random corridor. Something was chasing her. She could hear his lumbering gallop and she knew who it was. Insanely, it felt so familiar.

_He's going to jump on me. Any second he's going to jump on me._

Something rushed past her, a dark brown blur which coagulated in front of her and became a man. She almost ran into him. When she saw his face, confusion nearly overrode her fear.

"Paul?"

But it wasn't Paul. He was taller, had longer hair, wore different clothes, and had green eyes that looked as though they could set you on fire if their owner so chose.

"Is this what it takes to get you to listen to me?" he demanded angrily. "Is this a little more on your level?"

She opened her mouth, but he didn't give her a chance to answer. He clapped his hands over her ears and said through gritted teeth, "It's time you realize the consequences of your actions."

It hit her like lightening, white flooding her vision as bolts of electricity flowed from his fingertips and bombarded her brain. She shrieked and tried to pull away, but he held her there until her legs lost their integrity and she went limp as a rag-doll. He lowered her gingerly to the floor and knelt over her. She looked up at him pathetically, hardly able to blink, let alone move.

"Getting it point blank is a little more intense than from a distance, but you get the idea."

Sadie tried to speak, but couldn't manage much more than a whimper.

"I hope next time you'll think twice before using a little old lady as target practice."

Sadie watched as the outline of his body grew blurry and dark, and before she knew it, she was looking at the Anubis she knew. His eyes were softer now as he sighed that heavy anteater sigh and plopped down next to her.

"I want to tell you a story," he began.

To be continued…

AN: I've formatted and reformatted this story so many times. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have started posting till I was well into it. That way you all wouldn't have to wait so long. My apologies to those who've given up and a very special thanks to those who haven't. I'll try to cut out that short-chapter junk, too. It's a bad habit. Two more chapters, already written, are on the way. I'm doing this between classes, so bear with me. : p

PS: Seen KH on Sci-fi lately?? Holy crap, they play it a lot…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Tragically, I own nothing. Anyone wishing to donate so I can buy the rights may do so through Paypal. Until then, the disclaimers will continue.

AN: Discrepancies between book and TV make Baby Jesus cry. According to _The Journals of Eleanor Druse_, Paul's Dr. Gottreich's name is Ebenezer. According to Kingdom Hospital, it is Egas. For our purposes, I will refer to him as Egas. However, this is not to say that I am in any way disregarding the book. In fact, some heavy references to the book are set to show up soon, so if you haven't read it, you may learn some KH history!

Chapter 9

"The man who called Paul away is Dr. Egas Gottreich. I would advise you to avoid him like the plague. In the 1930s, he ran Gottreich Hospital which stood on these grounds. He was famous for his pain experiments, but in reality, he was just a sadist with a medical license. He claimed to have several techniques of what he called psychosurgery, which would relieve physical and emotional pain and even erase unpleasant memories. His patients usually ended up vegetables, if not dead.

"Paul was one of the lucky ones. He was a juvenile delinquent and Gottreich had convinced his parents that he could relieve his aggressive tendencies. His idea was to use sensory deprivation, which consisted of the boy spending several hours in a tank of water to isolate him from outside disturbances. Eventually, after several run-away attempts, Gottreich made the boy his assistant in hopes that he would stay more willingly if he was paid. This proved to be more debilitating as the boy often bore witness to the doctor's more gruesome procedures, as well as his failures. He saw more death by the age of 13 than most people see their whole lives. _No one _saw death like that at any rate.

"On November 2, 1939, Gottreich Hospital burned to the ground. It took Paul and Gottreich with it. (Some people speculated the troubled young assistant finally got tired of the old man and wanted out of the job for good.) Paul was 15 years old.

"But death hasn't stopped them- it's made them worse. Without any authority to keep him in check, and with the discovery of his new ethereal powers, Gottreich has slipped deeper into his megalomania. Over the past sixty years, he has taken Paul with him."

Anubis' eyes locked on Sadie's.

"They'll take you down too, Sadie, like a sinking ship, so if you're planning to take a side, I would advise you to do so while you still can."

"No," Sadie managed, though it was barely above a whisper.

"What was that?"

"Not taking sides," she forced out.

"Oh," Anubis chuckled. "You will. I think you may already have an idea."

"Paul's… helping me."

"He's helping himself and Gottreich. The woman he told you to attack is a medium. She knows about this place, about me, about them, possibly even about you. They're afraid of her, and you almost helped them kill her."

"N-not my _problem!_"

"Sadie, he's not your friend. He's using you."

"Could do it himself. D-doesn't need me."

"He can do more with you than without you."

She blinked at him once, and then looked up at the ceiling. She was done talking. Maybe Paul did have an agenda, but who gave a fig? He was teaching her how to get Frankie, and if he could do that, he deserved a little something in return.

"I'm giving you a chance," Anubis continued. "The more time you spend with them, the harder it will be to get away. Their power will suck you in and cloud your mind."

Sadie went on staring at the ceiling. _La la la, I can't hear you._

He seemed to sense her indifference and hauled himself up. "That's all for now. I've given you a lot to digest. You'll have plenty of time to think about it. I wouldn't suggest trying to move for a while. It will only take longer to regain your strength." He punctuated his statement with a snarl as he unsheathed a mouthful of teeth that reminded Sadie of- what did they remind her of? The feeling that there was some memory she couldn't quite grasp returned.

He nudged her until he had succeeded in turning her over onto her side. Then, he snagged the back of her halter with his needle-teeth and dragged her to a dark, out-of-the-way corner.

"Can't be blocking traffic now, can we?" he said merrily, tucking in her extremities so that they wouldn't trip any other ghosts that might be wandering around down there. "I'll leave you to your thoughts. Believe it or not, I have better things to do than sit here and baby-sit you. But then, how much trouble could you possibly get into in the state you're in?" He chuckled to himself as he shambled off down the hall and faded away into the darkness.

Sadie lay quietly in her corner and waited.

-

"Mama?" Bobby shook his mother gently. "Mum, the doctor's here with the test results."

"Hmmm? Oh, thank you, Bobby," Sally said, all but prying her eyes open. They'd been testing the bejeezus out of her for the past few hours and she was exhausted.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. D?"

"Like death."

"Mama!" Bobby hissed.

"Oh, calm down, son. It's just an expression." She sat up and leaned against a pillow. "What do you have for me, Doctor?"

"Well, the tests showed no toxins in your blood and no damage to your brain. Really, all that we could find that was out of the ordinary was an elevated white blood cell count, which along with other signs you've shown, is characteristic of a seizure."

"With all due respect, Doctor. This was no seizure. I think you know that."

"Sally," Dr. Hook began carefully. "Are you sure there isn't another explanation? You see, when we have a seizure, all of the neurons in our brain fire at once. It could cause all kinds of sensations, sometimes even hallucinations."

"I understand, Dr. Hook, but _we_ did not have a hallucination. What _we_ had was a negative psychic experience of the aggressive kind. It may look like a seizure, but I can assure you that is not what I experienced."

"Mum, don't contradict the doctor."

"It's all right, Bobby," Hook said, managing a smile. "She's entitled to her opinion. We've learned not to be closed-minded around here."

"Bobby scoffed and shook his head. "That might be a nice sentiment, Hook, but when you leave your mind open all the time, it's only a matter of time before things start falling out and the bats start moving in." He left the chair by his mother's bed and pulled back the curtain. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to work." He hesitated before he left and looked back at his mother. "Have 'em call me when they're ready to let you out, Mum," he said before disappearing behind the curtain.

Hook sighed. "Oh well, can't win them all," he said. He looked at Sally. "What's going on, Mrs. D? Why is everything getting all wiggy again?"

Sally's eyes grew wide despite her exhaustion. "I knew it. I knew something was happening. I could feel it. Tell me everything that's happened."

Nothing has happened that we can be sure of, but- well, I think I may have seen something. A girl."

"A child?" Sally gasped.

"Not really. She looked about nineteen or twenty. He clothes looked- relatively modern."

"Where did you see her?"

"I was in the OR doing emergency surgery on a patient, a younger teen who had been hurt- beaten and left for dead in the woods."

"Oh dear," Sally moaned.

"Yeah, but the weird thing is, I had a nearly identical case a few days ago. She coded the day before the last one came in."

"She was watching over the second victim."

"What?"

"The girl you saw- she was the first. Oh, Doctor, can't you see? She was murdered. She can't move on because what has happened has not been resolved yet. Not only that, but it continues to happen. She was watching over her friend. If she survives, she could be they key to catching the murderer!"

"Well, I think it's a little early to say they even knew each other, let alone that they were friends. For all we know, we could be dealing with a serial killer who's just getting started.

"But that doesn't matter!" Sally exclaimed. "They are bound by their experience."

"Sally the first victim had blond hair. The girl I saw in the OR was a brunette."

Sally thought for a moment. "Well then, her hair must have been colored."

Hook laughed out loud. "Of course, that explains everything."

Unperturbed, Sally went on. "Don't laugh, Dr. Hook. Think back, now. What was the deceased wearing when she was brought in?"

"I wasn't there at the time that she was checked in, but from what I hear, she was dressed like a streetwalker."

She saw the light go on over his head and just when she was about to ask him what had struck him, he excused himself quickly and hurried out of the room.

-

Chris was picking up a patient's file at the nurse's station when she saw Hook charge out of Mrs. Druse's room.

"Where's the fire?" she called out to him.

"Her hair was bleached!" Hook called back.

She and the nurse exchanged perplexed glances before Chris took off after him. The nurse shook her head as she watched them go. "He's getting as crazy as Steg," she muttered.

"What about bleach?" Chris asked when she caught up to him.

"The girl's hair was bleached. I just know it. She's the girl I saw in the OR. Her hair was blond when she came in, but now she's dead, so it's brown. It's the same girl."

"Hook, you're babbling. Where are you going? You're scaring me a little."

They stopped at Otto's security station and Hook turned to her. When Jane Doe Number One's parents left, did they take her personal belongings?"

"Of course."

"That's what I thought. So the only other record we have of what she looked like is the security tape." He opened the door and stuck his head in. "Otto, can I borrow you for a minute?"

-

"Ve just started using zis new filing system," Otto explained while Hook paced back and forth behind him. Chris sat silently in her seat, biting her nails. "Definitely not my idea. Ze tapes get transferred into ze computer now, so ve don't have to rummage through the record room. Now ve rummage through computer files." He rolled his eyes. "Progression, ja? Modernization, ja? It is more trouble that it is vorth. Sure ve have computer files 'forever,' but vhat happens vhen computer crashes? Oh, here it is."

Hook practically pounced on him. "Good work, Otto, let's see it."

Otto opened the file and a video popped up, projecting the familiar image of the emergency room. "You said between ten and eleven in ze morning?" Otto confirmed, scrolling to the appropriate time.

"That's right."

The three of them crowded around the monitor and watched. They didn't have to wait long before they saw Danny and Ollie wheeling in a girl on a stretcher, but they passed by the camera so fast that it was impossible to make out any detail.

"Whoa, rewind it!" Hook cried frantically.

"I'll do a frame-by-frame."

"You can do that?" Chris asked, impressed with the old man.

"Only ze best for Dr. James' hospital," Otto said, a little bitterness seeping into his voice. "I've been ordered to learn zis like ze back of my hand. Ready? Here goes." He pushed the play button.

"There, pause it," Hook said, when the girl was in plain view.

Otto did. The picture froze and the miracle of digital photography created a crystal clear picture of the girl on the stretcher.

Hook stared at the screen.

"Well?" Chris demanded impatiently. "Is it her?"

It was. It really was. Hook had known it, but now the reality was staring him in the face. She was wearing the same clothes as the girl he'd seen in the OR. He couldn't be certain of the face, and her hair was definitely blond, but the clothes- that couldn't be a coincidence, could it?"

"Hook!" Chris and Otto said at once. Chris was beginning to worry about him. He looked like he was about to have a Carrie Von Trier moment.

"It's her," he croaked finally. He swallowed hard to relieve the dryness in his throat. That's the girl I saw."

-

A police officer was waiting at the nurse's station when Hook and Chris returned.

"Oh, here he is," Nurse Von Trier said gratefully. "Dr. Hook, this is Officer Warren."

"Hello, Officer."

"Dr. Hook," the officer replied. "I'm here to get a progress report on the Jane Doe."

"I was just on my way to check on her. You're welcome to come with me."

"All right."

He followed Hook through the ICU to the girl's room. When they arrived, he whistled at the sight of her.

"Looks like she was hit by a damn _truck._"

"Exactly like the first one. The only difference is this girl isn't nursing a heroin addiction."

"She's in a coma?"

"Yes," Hook said, looking over her clipboard, "She was barely alive when we found her. She was unconscious on scene, so we were never able to question her."

"How does it look to you?"

Hook shook his head. "It's hard to say at this point. She was barely alive when she was brought in yesterday. She had to have emergency surgery for her head injuries. We patched things up as best we could, but we won't know much until the swelling does down."

Warren looked at the girl a moment longer, as if he expected her to open her eyes any second. "Well," he said when he resigned himself to the fact that she wasn't going to. "You know the drill. Call us if there are any developments."

"We'll do that. We've got her under observation and the nurses have order so that if she wakes up, someone will notify you in the event that I'm not available."

"Thanks, Doc. Really, if there's anything you can do for her-" He stopped and pressed his lips together. His strawberry-blonde moustache twitched. "We need to get this guy before he strikes again. I've got a teenage daughter myself-" He cleared his throat suddenly and coughed into his fist. "Just call us," he said hurriedly and left the room. Hook heard the hardware on his belt jingle as he rushed out.

To be continued…


	10. EMERGENCY NOTICE!

EMERGENCY UPDATE 3/3/07: This story is GOING to continue (if it KILLS ME! Lol). I love it like wo and I am NOT giving up on it, which is why I am devastated to announce that the entire blueprint for the story, not to mention research, some later chapters and the ENDING are currently missing! I am working on an 11th chapter, but really, without the blueprint, I'm shooting in the dark. I just wanted to give everyone the heads-up that until I find it, this story may be put on hiatus for a bit (which it already has been due to this distressing turn of events). I'm sifting through the clogged black hole that is my room and the landfill that is my house every chance I get, so do not despair! It will be recovered and I will continue the story.

Thanks for your patience and understanding,

TCFG

* * *

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, I own nothing of value… except perhaps a kickass premise for Season 2 O:) 

Chapter 10

Sadie lay in the dim light of the Old Kingdom. In her mind, however, she was back in the woods, floating in that hazy place between consciousness and darkness. She felt her heart pound, felt the pain and the nausea- things she shouldn't be feeling anymore, but the memory gripped her and made her believe. She felt the sun filter through the trees and warm the places it touched, even though it was a chilly morning. She felt the insects crawling, but was powerless to stop them. Her hands writhed weakly against their restraints.

Someone was shaking her. She opened her eyes and saw a bearded man in an EMT jacket. "Hey!" he said. "Hey, snap out of it! What's wrong with you?" He pulled the duct tape off of her mouth.

"I'm dying," she replied.

"Oh, no you don't," he answered back, grabbing her shoulders and sitting her up. "Sadie! Sadie, wake _up!_"

She blinked. The EMT became Paul, the woods disappeared and she was back in the Old Kingdom.

Paul saw the lucidity return to her eyes. "Are you with us, now?"

Sadie blinked at him groggily and nodded her head.

"I didn't think you'd want to relive that. It was just a flashback. They happen while you adjust."

She groaned as her brain got back up to speed. She was dead. She was stuck in a hospital with a boy who was also dead and an anteater that was… not exactly dead. Ruby was upstairs, nearly dead, that is if she hadn't already-

"How long have I been out?" Briefly she wondered if "out" was what you would call it, but that was irrelevant right now.

"I don't know. What happened to you, anyway?"

Sadie thought back. "Anubis. He- punished me, I guess. He knows what we did to the old woman." She decided to leave out the story time part. "That was right after you left."

Paul laughed bitterly. "Unbelievable. That was over six hours ago. Old Lady Druse has been back on her feet snooping around for over an hour now and you barely stand up. That's balanced."

"I can stand just fine, thanks," she replied and demonstrated by struggling to her feet and wobbling over to the wall where she hung on for dear life.

"So I see. Give me your hands," Paul said, taking them from the wall and supporting her.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you a little pick-me-up."

Their hands began to glow with a blue-white light and suddenly Sadie felt a lot better.

"Wow."

"I've got some energy to spare. That should at least get you moving around without a walker. Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I mean, not like I could run a marathon or anything, but a lot better than before." She watched the last bits of blue light flicker out. "Thanks," she smiled a little shyly.

"Sure. Look, don't go getting all gushy on me now," he warned cocking his eyebrow and letting go of her hands.

Sadie laughed out loud, blushing a little. "I'm not!"

"Yes you are. You girls are always getting gushy about one thing or another."

"Oh, like you know so much about girls."

Paul crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you have any _idea_ how much drama goes down in this place? Trust me. In almost seventy years, I think I've learned a thing or two."

_Ruby,_ she thought suddenly, almost as if Ruby herself had tugged on her coat sleeve. "Oh my god, I have to get upstairs," she burst out suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"You said I've been down here for over six hours. I need to check on Ruby." She swallowed hard. "Something might have happened. Can you show me to that elevator?"

Paul led her to the elevator and rode up with her. When they reached the first floor, there was a doctor waiting to board. Sadie stepped aside to let him in, but Paul walked right through him. Sadie gasped at them for a second, noting how the doctor shivered a little.

"Come on, before the doors close!" Paul urged.

Sadie picked her jaw up off the floor and hopped out just before the doors slid shut behind her.

When they reached Ruby's room, they discovered Sally Druse there.

"What is she doing here?" Sadie whispered, bristling a little when she saw that Druse was holding her hand.

"Classic Druse," Paul replied, making no effort to keep his voice down. "Sticking her nose in wherever she sees a "keep out" sign. I guess we didn't hurt her too bad if she didn't take the hint."

"Does she know we're here?"

"Right now?" Paul shook his head. "Don't give her so much credit. She talks to her crystals and her tarot cards like a carnie and reads a lot of New Age wind-chime crap, but really she's not all that sensitive. She may have a vague idea that something is going on on our side, but as far as sensing presences and conversing with spirits, she's nothing to write home about." He grinned diabolically. "That is, unless we _want_ to make our presence known."

An irregular beep began to stand out from the usual rhythms of the monitors around Ruby's bed. Sally looked up and checked each one. "Oh dear," she said to herself. She rose up out of her chair and pushed the call button.

"What's wrong with her?" Sadie asked, panic rising in her voice. "What's that weird beeping?"

"Her blood pressure is dropping," Paul responded coolly. "See that monitor there? Look under where it says 'BP.' See the number going down?"

"What does it mean?"

"Means curtains if someone doesn't come, soon."

Sally pushed the button again and went to the door, hoping to see someone coming. "Come on, come on! Where is everyone?" she mumbled.

"Where are they?" Sadie demanded. "She's dying!"

"Sadie, I told you-"

"No! She has to live! She has to!" She rushed over to the bed, balled up her fists and slammed them down on the call button.

Sally shrieked and ducked her head when the call light outside of the room exploded in a shower of sparks.

Sadie heard voices in the hall.

"What's going on out here?"

What happened here, Mrs. Druse?"

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Sally said breathlessly. "But that girl in there needs help right away."

Sadie recognized one of the doctors as Dr. Hook. He hurried over to the monitors and checked them, then addressed the two nurses trailing him.

"BP and heart rate are falling. I'm going to need the crash cart."

"Anything we can do, Hook?" the older doctor asked him from the doorway. He spoke for himself and the younger doctor behind him, but to Sadie, this young man looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

Before Hook could answer, a shrill sound came from the monitors.

"She's coding on us!" He wheeled around. "Where is that crash cart?!"

"Here, doctor!" the winded nurse answered, wheeling this cart in from the hallway.

Sadie stood in the back of the room. She knew this part. They would shock her, inject her, pound on her chest. Did that ever work?

"Paul?" she said softly, her eyes fixed on the familiar scene before her.

"Yeah?"

"She _is_ going to die, isn't she?"

"You catch on quick."

She ignored his stinging comment and watched quietly for a while.

"Have you had enough of this yet?" Paul grumbled finally.

Sadie sighed shakily. "I guess so," she said, her voice thick.

Paul turned to leave and Sadie followed, but she stopped when a brilliant bathed the room on gold light. She turned around and gasped as an emotion she couldn't quite place filled her and made her eyes water.

"What is it?"

Paul was at her side again. "You know what it is," he fairly growled. "The Light at the End of the Tunnel. The portal between this stagnant hollow and the world beyond. If only we were all so _lucky,_" he spat.

It was impossible to mistake the venom in his voice, but Sadie's attention was elsewhere.

"Hey, Sadie," Ruby smiled sweetly. The light that framed her from behind made her look angelic, even in her ratty street clothes.

"Ruby."

"I knew you were there, chick. I could hear you. Thanks for staying with me as long as you did."

Sadie shrugged. "Yeah well," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. She smiled back at her. "You look good, babe."

Ruby's smile went crooked. "You look lousy."

The sound of a throat being cleared interrupted their reunion and Paul stepped forward.

"Oh, Paul, this is Ruby. Ruby, this is Paul. He's been kind of taking care of me."

"I believe we've met, though not formally," Paul said, a dark grin on his face.

Ruby seemed uneasy. She glanced sideways at Paul and grabbed Sadie's arms. "Sadie, come with me," she blurted out.

Paul glared at her.

Sadie's expression darkened and she shook her head. "I can't, babe. Not yet."

"Come on, Sadie, forget about Frankie. I know you promised- I heard it, but I didn't ask you for it then and I'm not now. Please, just let it go and come with me now, before it's too late." She looked over her shoulder into the light. "Can't you hear it calling?"

Sadie shook her head again. "No, Ruby. I can't hear it."

She can't hear it because she's not finished yet," Paul explained impatiently. "She's got business here."

Ruby ignored him. "Sadie let it go. Please, that's all you have to do. Just drop it and come with me now and we'll leave here together. I don't have much time left."

Sadie shuffled forward, put her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. "I'll see you soon, babe," she whispered tearfully. She pulled back and smiled. "Now go, before you miss your bus."

Ruby backed slowly into the light, her face marked by a mix of disappointment and something like fear.

"Don't worry. I'll be right behind you. Save me a seat, will ya?"

Ruby didn't respond, and in another blinding flash, she was gone.

"The bar gets lower every day," Paul muttered, turning to walk away.

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing. Just a casual observation. It's interesting. I know I'm not a model citizen, but I thought I was at least a couple rungs higher than the common whore."

Sadie looked at him incredulously. This kid was either a total reject with no sense of tact, or he was trying to pick a fight. Either way, she was not equipped to deal with him properly. So she dealt with him improperly. "You complete and total asshat! Where the hell do you get off?"

Paul kept walking. It was her turn to be ignored. "I had a couple of anger management issues, sure, but at least I didn't lay every greasy Joe I happened across for drug money."

"And just who the hell do you think _you _are?" She charged up behind him and pushed him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, dick! I said who do you think you are?"

Paul laughed at her. He seemed to be enjoying the attention.

"Look at _you _all tragic and bitter. You think the whole world owes you? Poor unfortunate boy- when you probably started that fire yourself!" Satisfaction overcame her when his amused smile disappeared. "Yeah, that's right. I know your story. Anubis told me all about you."

He stepped up to her and put his index finger in her face. "Take that back," he said ominously.

"You best get that finger outta my face before I break it off," she said, slapping it away.

He caught her arm on the backswing. "Take it _back!_"

"Why should I? You've done nothing but use me and get me into trouble. Why should I believe _anything_ you say?" She jerked it out of his grip and walked away from him.

"You don't understand," he spat, biting back angry tears. "You weren't there. You don't know- " His predatory eyes suddenly fixed on her and he rushed her from behind. "I'll make you see!" he raged, locking his arms around her waist.

Suddenly, Sadie was somewhere else. It looked like a hospital, but somehow seemed familiar.

"Paul?" She couldn't see him, but she was sure he was there somewhere. She could feel it, as if he were still breathing down her neck. She shivered. "Paul, where am I?"

_Keep walking,_ a voice apart from her own said in her head. Keep walking? She wasn't even aware that she had started. Her feet seemed to be on autopilot, but they gave in to her control once she realized it. Where was she going? The hallway was deserted, and the lights had been dimmed. All of the doors looked the same, dark windows leading to dark rooms, so she decided to just keep going in the direction she was headed.

"Okay," she sighed. "I'll bite." She noticed a door at the end of the hall, and the place suddenly seemed more than familiar. This was full-blown déjà vu.

_Keep walking._

"I'm going!" She picked up the pace. Why not? There was nothing to be afraid of. This wasn't real, and even if it was- she smiled a little_- I'm already dead._ When she reached the door, however, she hesitated. _Definitely_ a red flag. She was afraid of whatever was behind that door, but she couldn't remember why.

"God damn it!" she huffed, frustrated. "Paul, what the hell am I doing here? Quit screwing with me!"

Nothing.

"Fine. Fine! I'll just find out on my own. Thanks for all you help." She reached for the door handle, but yanked her hand back when she heard a bloodcurdling scream. It soon turned into a sustained wail, rising and falling in pitch for almost a full minute before finally dying out. Then there were voices, two male voices, which seemed to be muttering back and forth. One of them seemed to get louder and louder until Sadie realized he was coming toward the door. She jumped back and looked around frantically for a place to hide. When the door flew open and a man in a bloodstained white coat appeared in the doorway, she froze. He began walking toward her, an intense expression on his face. Sadie braced herself for an attack, but the doctor didn't slow his stride. Instead he proceeded to walk right through her.

Her head reeled from the feeling. She felt stretched somehow, as if her body had resisted at first before giving in as he passed through her- like poking your finger through silly putty. It didn't hurt. Nothing really hurt her anymore. It was just _weird_.

_Gottreich._

She heard his footsteps receding behind her. That was it. She was convinced. Death was the best trip you'd ever have. No drug at the disposal of mankind could have reproduced that feeling. She was sure of it.

She shook her head and attempted to refocus on the situation at hand. Her eyes widened in horror at the surreal site before her as her goofy smile faded. "Oh my God…" She stumbled backwards with her hand over her mouth.

A middle-aged woman with dark hair lay on the table. Her mouth hung open and she glared at Sadie with her one good eye. Buried up to the hilt in the other was a hypodermic needle. A bloody tear crept over the bridge of her nose and dripped onto the table where a small pool was forming. Sadie watched, transfixed, as a young man began untying the straps binding the woman to the table. She wouldn't be needing them anymore, because Sadie realized that that one good eye was lifeless. The woman was dead. And she was staring at Sadie.

She shivered again.

The boy didn't seem at all fazed by the situation and straightened out the cadaver before cleaning up the medical instruments and the surrounding area. Sadie watched in disgust as he mopped up the blood on the floor and on the table around the corpse, but then she had to turn away.

_Look!_ the voice in her head screamed. _You have to see! You _will_ understand!_

She couldn't stop it. Her head turned back to the boy and the corpse and she couldn't look away. There was a bloody, gored hole where the needle and, once upon a time, the woman's eye had been. The boy was standing over her with the needle in his hand. It was shaking.

It was the first sign of weakness Sadie had seem him show. Her morbid fascination had given her tunnel vision. She's barely noticed him up to this point. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. His dark brown hair was combed back neatly, and, aside from the blood on his hands, his overall appearance was quite clean. He wore a crisp white shirt, pressed brown slacks and matching suspenders.

He cleaned the needle thoroughly and placed it on the tray next to the other instruments. Everything was taken care of- everything but her. He faltered. The body lay there waiting, her mouth hanging open, frozen in a silent scream forever. He turned away from it, retreating back into a part of the room that Sadie couldn't see from where she was. He returned a second later with a burlap sack, which he laid out on the floor. It had a vertical slit down the middle and three leather straps across it. He knelt in front of it with his back to Sadie and unbuckled them, laying the archaic body bag open. He slowly stood and looked at the dead woman.

"Boy! What's taking so long?" The gruff voice of the doctor echoed down the hall, making Sadie jump. The boy jumped right along with her and wheeled around toward the voice, revealing his face to her for the first time. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was Paul- a considerably more well-groomed Paul, but Paul none-the-less. He was looking through her. "Almost finished!" he called back to the doctor.

Suddenly, it seemed so obvious. She'd been right. This wasn't real, at least right now. Paul was going to tell his story, whether she liked it or not.

She sighed. _I wish he could have spared me some of the gory details, though,_ he thought, grimacing as she watched him slide his arms under the limp body and, dripping all the way, lower it gingerly into the sack. _Gross._

He buckled up the bag and she heard him sigh. Then he stood, wiped the blood from his hands, and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. His hands were still shaking.

"Boy!"

Paul groaned as he hung it off his lip. "Give me a break, old man," he muttered, fishing around in his pocket for a match. He found one, struck it with his thumb and puffed deeply as he lit up. His shaking hands steadied slightly.

"Boy!" the doctor boomed again. "Answer me!"

He choked and started coughing. "Ah, damn it," he said to himself. "Yes doctor, I hear you!"

"What's taking so long?"

"Uh." He fumbled with the window. He finally shoved it open, and began wafting the smoke outside. "It's these buckles on the bag, you know? I think they need oiling. They're sticking pretty bad."

Sadie heard the doctor scoff. "You damned fool, we're going to bury it! We're not opening it again!"

Paul rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Of course!" He took another drag. "Damn fool, we're gonna bury it!" he quipped in a mocking tone, though quiet enough so that Gottreich couldn't hear.

Sadie couldn't help but smile. He was trying so hard to be cool, but in the short time they'd been acquainted, she'd never seen him look younger. "Paulie, you were so _cute!_" she giggled.

Paul turned to look out the window. Just when he was about to flick his cigarette, he heard something behind him. He turned around, expecting the doctor to chastise him for smoking in the pain room. But no one was there.

"Pain room?" Sadie looked on, confused. "And since when can I read his thoughts?" She stepped closer to the doorway.

_What do you think you've been doing all this time?_ The voice whispered. _The pain room is what they called the room where Gottreich did all of his experiments._

Paul turned to face the window again, but then he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "All right, stop messing around. Joke's ov-" He dropped his cigarette.

The burlap sack was moving. The burlap sack was breathing. Then, the burlap sack sat up.

"Jesus!" He stumbled and fell over, but he caught himself on a nearby countertop, knocking over a row of glass jars. They smashed to the ground unnoticed. He heard a bell. At the sound of the soft tinkle, the body bag flopped down, lifeless once more.

Sadie looked down. A little brown-haired girl was standing right in front of her, and she was holding a bell. She couldn't remember when she had shown up or how she had got there. She was just there. The ringing stopped.

_Mary,_ the voice spat.

Paul evidently could see her as well, because his eyes widened at the realization that there was something very wrong with her. "Who are you?" he screamed at her. "What do you _want?"_

She didn't respond, but she turned her head to look at something within the room that Sadie couldn't see. She didn't dare step forward. Paul's response was enough to cure her of that particular curiosity.

His back was pressed tight to the wall. His eyes flicked from the thing to Mary and then back again. "What _is_ it?"

Mary looked back at him. Her eyes were sad.

"I said, what is it? Answer me, damn it!"

Sadie heard a growling and then a fierce snarl before the anteater came into view. It lunged toward Paul, stopping just short of him and bearing its teeth.

Paul cried out, flattening himself against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for an attack. When it didn't come, he cautiously opened his eyes. The anteater had moved and so had the little girl. They now stood side by side next to the body bag.

Sadie blinked. "Mary? But she's right… here?" She looked down to see that Mary really had moved. How did she keep doing that? "I wonder if I can do that." She jumped when she heard another shriek coming from somewhere down the hall, this one more shrill, as if from a child. She was half-surprised that no one else in the room so much as flinched, but she soon realized that screaming, of little girls or otherwise, must be as common as the striking of the hour in this place. She glanced over her shoulder, but decided to stay where she was. She'd seen about enough gore for one day. Everyone else might be accustomed to it, Sadie wasn't, and she wasn't in that great of a hurry to find out whether or not ghosts could still throw up. Suddenly, she heard a rumbling. The floor started to shake. _What now? _she thought.

She heard a man's voice next. The doctor was ordering someone to come back. The screamer? Her curiosity finally compelled her to turn around. She saw a little girl… with an ax in her hands.

_Druse,_ the voice said with obvious contempt.

Sadie's hands flew up to her face as the tiny blond child closed her eyes and swung the ax. The doctor crumpled to the floor and laid there.

Sadie turned to see Paul, still against the wall, his face a mixture of confusion and shock. The ghost and the animal were gone.

"Fire! Fire!" The little girl's voice rang out. Sadie smelled smoke. Paul and Sadie both looked back to see a trail of fire heading straight for them.

_That's not right, is it? It's moving too fast, and it's too- _

Sadie grappled for the right word. _Organized?_

Paul realized too late that the formidable specters were gone. The flames reached the doorway and spread up and out until it became a wall.

Paul looked around. Now what? The fire seemed to have a mind of its own, and now it was closing in.

_The tank._

The tank? The tank! Water. Perfect. Why hadn't he thought of it before? He'd extinguish it himself. The fire was climbing up the walls, traveling swiftly along the ceiling. Flaming chunks of it began falling here and there, bring the rafters above. The smoke was becoming unbearable. He choked and his eyes began to water. He searched the room quickly for anything resembling a bowl or a bucket, but he found nothing. He's have to do it by hand.

He heard a creak and looked up just in time to dodge a support beam that had weakened and come loose. It came own in flames just inches from him, blocking his path to the water tank. The flames seemed to reach out to him, grabbing at his ankles and nipping at his feet.

He stood there a minute. The fire was too high to jump. He would have to go around. With his eyes focused on the tank, he pulled his shirt up over his nose and mouth and started again. By the time he finally reached it, he was beginning to feel light-headed.

He let go of his shirt dipped his hands in the water. The fire was closing in around him. He tried desperately to throw water on it, but it was moving too fast. Finally, he stopped. This was pointless. He had only one hope now.

He climbed gingerly into the tank and lowered himself into the water. It would keep him safe until someone came, and if no one did, maybe drowning wouldn't be so bad. He held his breath and submerged himself in the surprisingly cool water.

_Please, God, let someone come. I swear, I'll be whatever you want me to be if you just let me live. Please don't let me die. Please…_

-

It was dark. That was the first thing Paul noticed when he opened his eyes. The next thing he realized was that he was still holding his breath, and he suddenly began to feel claustrophobic. He shot out of the water and grasped the side of the tank. He sat there for a moment. What had happened here?

_At least the shaking has stopped, _he thought absently. _Wait, what shaking? _He surveyed the surroundings. There was a burnt smell and he could ash and soot everywhere in the light from the moon.

_The moon?_

His eyes darted up to the ceiling, but there wasn't one, nor where there any floors above it. Could a fire have one that?

Voices. There were two. He heard them faintly outside the window. They seemed to float somehow, wavering in and out. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Perhaps they were looking for him. If so, this was the perfect chance for him to escape this place. Right. He would just take off and leave this place and that creepy doctor!

An image came to Paul of the doctor with an ax in his head. His breath caught in his throat. Someone killed the doctor. Had he done it? No, it was someone else. It was a little girl. Two little girls. And some weird animal? He sighed, exasperated, and began hauling himself out of the tank. He didn't know what was going on, but maybe he could get some idea from whoever was talking outside. He crept toward the window he had left open earlier, seemingly oblivious to the lifeless shape that had been sharing the tank with him.

"I didn't mean to do it," he heard a little girl say. "He was hurting her. You saw. I got upset. I couldn't help it."

Paul hunkered down under the windowsill and listened as an older male voice answered. I know, Mary, but it wasn't right. It wasn't his time. Plus, there was another- a boy. Young."

"He was a bad boy, anyway!" the little voice protested. "He helped the bad doctor, and he was bad! They should both be dead!"

"It wasn't their time, Mary! Regardless of what they deserved, that's not for us to say. Think of how you might have disrupted things!"

The girl didn't respond.

Paul couldn't believe his luck. He smiled. They thought he was dead! How perfect was that? Not only would he escape, but no one would be looking for him either. As he turned his head to look over his shoulder, he thought, _It's a good thing no one thought to check the-_

The word was lost as he fought back a scream. There he was, still in the tank, but that was impossible. He was on the other side of the room… staring at himself. He stood and shakily forced himself over to the tank. He peered over the edge and into the strangely tinged water. His doppelganger lay at the bottom. His eyes were rolled back in his head and his flesh was a waxy pale. He remembered everything now- the earthquake, the fire… the ghosts.

With a trembling hand, he reached into the tank and tried to touch the body, but his hand passed right through. He stumbled back, clutching his hand and realizing for the first time how cold it felt. He tripped and nearly fell, but a strong hand caught him from behind.

"How does immortality feel, boy?" The crusty voice of the doctor spoke low in his ear.

Paul spun around. "Immortality?! I'm dead!" He swallowed hard as his eyes traced the now black scar running down the side of the old man's head. "_You're_ dead," he squeaked as he backed away.

The doctor only came closer, eyes bright with madness. "No," he grinned gleefully as Paul backed into the tank. He motioned to the body within it. "_They_ are dead. We live!"

"I don't follow you."

"Of course you do! Remember now, how we talked about applying yourself?" The old man's tone had taken on that of a schoolteacher's.

Paul blinked. "Uh…"

"Aggh! Idiot! We're still here, and there the corpses lay, so what more is there? I've been granted a second chance to carry on my research!" His eyes settled on the boy. "And you have been chosen to assist me. Now isn't that exciting?"

Paul gaped at him. Eternity with this quack? Being his nurse, guinea pig, _slave?_ He wrenched away from Gottreich and took off running.

"What? Hey! Get back here, boy!" The doctor ran after him. "Morlock! Paul Morlock, get back here right this instant!" He rounded a corner the boy had taken and disappeared down the hall, calling his name and shouting threats.

Paul peered out after him. He couldn't believe the elevator door had been open. Unfortunately, there had been no elevator, so he'd nearly fallen down the empty shaft to his- well, never mind. Death wasn't exactly a threat to him anymore.

_Something's funny here, though,_ he thought. He had the strangest feeling, and when he looked down at his feet, he only saw the toes of his shoes _sticking directly out of the elevator door!_

He gasped as he realized the rest of his body was still inside, while his head, shoulders and toes were poking through. He hadn't found an open door; he'd walked _through_ one. Significantly creeped out at this point, he hopped out and examined the doors. They were solid and sturdy. He ran his hand over them thoughtfully. Why wasn't his hand going through now?

He looked at his hand, clearly confused. _Remember now, how we talked about applying yourself?_ The doctor's voice resounded in his head. "Maybe I'm just not concentrating hard enough." He reached out to the doors again. "I wonder…" He placed one hand against the door and imagined it passing through. Nothing happened.

He snorted. "This is stupid." He put his other hand on the door and closed his eyes. This time, he imagined a wall. He saw his hands pushing on it. Behind him was the anteater. It was charging toward him, closer and closer and out of the corner of his eye Paul could see its teeth flashing and suddenly he was falling. His screams echoed off the walls of the elevator shaft as he plummeted down into the darkness.

To be continued…

AN: Wow, that took a lot out of me, lol. Not really. I'm loving this and I hope you are, too. This is turning into novel… Hope no one minds…


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